SMS for Location, Vol. 5

DaftBeat ft. DJ N.K

Pre-Order: bit.ly/gqomohpre 

"Like being suspended over the gravitational field of a black hole, and lovin' it" - Kode 9

“Massive, dramatic tracks!! Most of these are giving me goosebumps! A really strong presentation of the Durban sound” - Spoek Mathambo

"A great snapshot of what's happening with the Gqom sound. Dark and rolling, with a real feeling of menace and intent behind each track" - Mumdance

“Gqom Oh! is the kind of bolt from the blue that doesn’t come along every day. ” FACT Mag

“Utterly mesmeric” Boiler Room

“A perfect opportunity to investigate exactly what’s going down in one of the hottest genres around” THUMP

“Keep it playing and you might confuse its march for your own heartbeat” Pitchfork

“Genuinely without precedent” DJ Mag

“Crackling with volatile energy” The Wire

"Something fresh that gets very addictive, very quickly" Mixmag 8/10



‘The Sound of Durban Vol.1’ represents the first full length compilation collecting the sound of the suburbs and townships of Durban, South Africa known as “gqom”. The album unites many of the local young producers of this fresh genre over 15 tracks on double LP and digital (with four bonus tracks) released via the Gqom Oh! label on 29th January 2016.

The result of Rome-based DJ and musician Nan Kolè teaming up with South Africa-based Lerato Phiri, the Gqom Oh! label was set up to highlight the music and artists of Durban, the often overlooked cradle of the new South African sound. Speaking to The FADER in October this year, Kolè says of Phiri “Thanks to her work the artists I was interested in had greater trust in a stranger who contacted them from Italy to promote a kind of music that even South African promoters don't want to promote or to enter the club.”

Derived from an onomatopoeic Zulu word signifying a drum, “gqom” - in the local slang - “iz da sound u get wen u drop a rock on tiles”. This extraordinary, apocalyptic bass music encompasses many influences. Each polyrhythmic track draws on the darker side of electronic music, hip hop, soundsystem culture, kwaito, UK funky and deep tribal African vibrations. As Kolè puts it: “You can feel the troubled history of South Africa. It’s riot music." Tied to a specific dance called bhenga, gqom happens in a DIY-oriented universe, grafting organic and homemade samples on sourced software to create this wholly unique sound. The label’s greater aim is to invest in much needed technology to help build a local creative infrastructure.

‘The Sound of Durban Vol.1’ features a host of local talent including Julz Da DeeJay, Cruel Boyz, Citizen Boy and Formation Boyz. This compilation was preceded by a 12” EP release in summer 2015 described by Hyponik as “thunderous prime time music” and Complex said “it surely won't be long until clubs across the UK are shaken by this new South African sound”. Resident Advisor’s review mentioned “these three tracks muster up a hulking sound out of very few elements, and they do it without coming off macho or alienating—an achievement on its own”.

South Africa is a unique case in the African continent, a place of the soul that has no equal: so strongly western and so deeply African at the same time. With its mix of ethnic tradition and urban tension it has been a cradle of cultural phenomena. In its own way it is a country of great wealth, particularly rich of contradictions, yet 20 years after the end of apartheid little appears to have changed for the millions of black people that live in its notorious townships. It is from this background that innovations are continually being injected into the living body of the local music culture. The heartbeat of Durban is gqom. 

Dj Mabheko - Syagwaba (704 Gqomu)

Head of the Gqom Oh! label, Nan Kolè has been undertaking a massive project over the past few months. Allying with Rome-based radio station Crudo Volta, Kolè has been travelling around South Africa, and Durban in particular, to investigate the various shades of Gqom that are gradually emerging. For many of these artists, the resultant Woza mixtape and the accompanying documentary are their first chance at exposure outside of the country. It's also an opportunity to contextualise Gqom and educate the rest of the world about the culture as a whole. Crafting a balance of the biggest hitters in the scene, the biggest tracks and those most representative of the sound and its scene must have been a difficult tightrope to walk. One of our favourites—and it really was tough to pick just one—was "Cruel Drumz", a dubby example of the gritty, minimal, bass-heavy sound of Gqom by Cruel Boyz (whose "Touch It" we premiered last year).

Read the full interview with label boss Nan Kolè here: http://uk.complex.com/music/2016/07/premiere-cruel-boyz-cruel-drumz

Premiere: Cruel Boyz - Cruel Drumz

V/A 'The Originators' EP
Release Date: 23rd February 2018
Label: Gqom Oh!
Format: 12" Vinyl // Digital
Cat. No: GQOM008

Gqom Oh! records presents "The Originators"; a five track EP respresenting the past, the present and the future of Gqom - the thunderous club sound from Durban, South Africa. 

The Gqom Oh! label was set up by Rome-based DJ and musician Nan Kolè to highlight the music and artists of Durban, the often overlooked cradle of the new South African sound. The label's 2016 compilation - ‘Gqom Oh! The Sound of Durban Vol.1’ - broke the sound out of South Africa, Pitchfork calling it “The largest and most thoughtful survey of the genre available to western audiences to date”. Recently joining Kolè is Sboniso Brandon Luthuli aka Citizen Boy on the ground as local A&R. 

The EP's A-Side is dedicated to two of the genre's most prominent producers. DJ Lag is a frontrunner in pushing Gqom worldwide. Making music from a young age and building up a solid reputation in South Africa, he’s known as the "King of Gqom". Griffit Vigo, a real innovator in the Gqom genre, grew up in the same area as DJ Lag and has attained a legendary status amongst his peers.

"When I was in Durban the first time I noticed that Griffit Vigo was a kind of legendary figure, he'd been inspiring all the Gqom Durban artists for a long time. Nobody knew where he was but everybody was playing him and sometimes using his beats to make new songs. The main track 'Ree’s Vibe' was the peak moment of DJ Lag's sets all over the world. If Lag is the Gqom King then Griffit Vigo is the Gqom Legend."
- Nan Kolè 

Sbucardo is one of the most respected DJs around the streets and the townships of Durban. Featuring Abnormal on 'Iphoyisa', whose lyrics in Zulu translate to “We at the club, Mr police man don’t disturb us", the track represents the South African scene and Gqom culture in Durban very well. Naked Boyz (officially the first in Durban to explore new territories in broken beat in 2011) 'Story Teller' is characteristic of the Sgubhu style, a blend of Gqom with more conventional house sounds, the new genre taking over Durban and finding its way onto mainstream radio. Scene kingpins Rude Boyz round off the release's line up of Gqom originators with 'Umshunto'.

Tracklist on Vinyl:
A:
01. DJ Lag - Daisies
02. Griffit Vigo - Ree’s Vibe
B:
03. Sbucardo da DJ - IPhoyisa feat. Abnormal
04. Naked Boyz - Story Teller
05. Rude Boyz - Umshunto

PLUS DIGITAL : 
GRIFFIT VIGO - GQOMU 5
DJ LAG - MOMISH
SBUCARDO DA DJ - NGWINYELENI
NAKED BOYS - DIVORCE

The Originators

THE ORIGINATORS

Griffit Vigo - Ree's Vibe

Gqom Oh! records presents "The Originators"; a five track EP respresenting the past, the present and the future of Gqom.
The EP's A-Side is dedicated to two of the genre's most prominent producers. DJ Lag is a frontrunner in pushing Gqom worldwide. Making music from a young age and building up a solid reputation in South Africa, he’s known as the "King of Gqom". 

Tracklist on Vinyl:
A:
01. DJ Lag - Daisies
02. Griffit Vigo - Ree’s Vibe
B:
03. Sbucardo da DJ - IPhoyisa feat. Abnormal
04. Naked Boyz - Story Teller
05. Rude Boyz - Umshunto

PLUS DIGITAL : 
GRIFFIT VIGO - GQOMU 5
DJ LAG - MOMISH
SBUCARDO DA DJ - NGWINYELENI
NAKED BOYS - DIVORCE

Dj Lag - Daisies

Gqom Oh! records presents "The Originators"; a five track EP respresenting the past, the present and the future of Gqom - the thunderous club sound from Durban, South Africa. 

The Gqom Oh! label was set up by Rome-based DJ and musician Nan Kolè to highlight the music and artists of Durban, the often overlooked cradle of the new South African sound. The label's 2016 compilation - ‘Gqom Oh! The Sound of Durban Vol.1’ - broke the sound out of South Africa, Pitchfork calling it “The largest and most thoughtful survey of the genre available to western audiences to date”. Recently joining Kolè is Sboniso Brandon Luthuli aka Citizen Boy on the ground as local A&R. 

The EP's A-Side is dedicated to two of the genre's most prominent producers. DJ Lag is a frontrunner in pushing Gqom worldwide. Making music from a young age and building up a solid reputation in South Africa, he’s known as the "King of Gqom". Griffit Vigo, a real innovator in the Gqom genre, grew up in the same area as DJ Lag and has attained a legendary status amongst his peers.

"When I was in Durban the first time I noticed that Griffit Vigo was a kind of legendary figure, he'd been inspiring all the Gqom Durban artists for a long time. Nobody knew where he was but everybody was playing him and sometimes using his beats to make new songs. The main track 'Ree’s Vibe' was the peak moment of DJ Lag's sets all over the world. If Lag is the Gqom King then Griffit Vigo is the Gqom Legend."
- Nan Kolè 

Sbucardo is one of the most respected DJs around the streets and the townships of Durban. Featuring Abnormal on 'Iphoyisa', whose lyrics in Zulu translate to “We at the club, Mr police man don’t disturb us", the track represents the South African scene and Gqom culture in Durban very well. Naked Boyz (officially the first in Durban to explore new territories in broken beat in 2011) 'Story Teller' is characteristic of the Sgubhu style, a blend of Gqom with more conventional house sounds, the new genre taking over Durban and finding its way onto mainstream radio. Scene kingpins Rude Boyz round off the release's line up of Gqom originators with 'Umshunto'.

Rude Boyz - Umshudo

Sbucardo da Dj - Ngwinyeleni

Griffit Vigo - Gqomu 5 (2017 remastered)

Sbucardo da Deejay - IPhoyisa feat. Abnormal

Naked Boys - Story Teller

South African Gqom meet Nigerian Afrobeats.

Alala

Citizen Boy feat. Dapo Tuburna - Alala

Vinyls and Cassettes collection of Gqomu. Gqom Oh! Records is a label dedicated to the sound of Durban, South Africa. For sync & licensing please contact gavin@syncsmith.com
Management/Remix Requests: gqomubhenga@gmail.com
Gqom Oh! Showcase bookings : live@3feethi.com

Sbucardo da Deejay - IPhoyisa feat. Abnormal

Gqom Oh!

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