The New Wave of South African Music: The Rise of The Chaotics
EetSleep is interested in extremes. “I’ve always been drawn to loud things,” says the Cape Town-based DJ and producer, whose bedroom hyperpop melts the chrome of PC Music over the charcoal-lined eyes of My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way. They furrow their brow as they roll themself a cigarette. “I didn’t really discover fast electronic music until the last five or six years. In the last two years, it’s become like my favourite thing.”
The Evolution of South African Music Scene
They’re one of a growing vanguard of post-1997-born South African DJs, producers and promoters evolving the Eurocentric techno and progressive sound of South Africa’s urban centres into something harder, faster and queerer. Since lockdown lifted three years ago, Cape Town and Johannesburg’s inner-city rave scenes have undergone a palpable shift. At the forefront is this new generation — we’ll call them The Chaotics, because why not. Embracing the global underground, they juxtapose bass, footwork, hyperpop, and fractured breakbeats with ’90s hip-hop, Top 40 pop, and Africa’s own gqom and kuduro. It’s an info dump, smashed together with the irreverence of a TikTok feed.
The Sound of Chaos: Meet DJ DAMAGE
DJ and promoter DAMAGE endearingly dubs this sound “noise” — “music that doesn’t fit into a genre. It’s heavily distorted with bass, unpredictable”. Growing up in the Cape Flats, DAMAGE found herself inspired by the whacking bass of the UK underground. Her aggressive, delightfully raucous sets celebrate the music she loves, somersaulting from gqom and drum & bass to jungle and Jersey club. She created her event CHAOS!, a space where the sound system is EQ’d to loud and BPMs race at 5G speed, to share these same obsessions. “I wanted freedom behind the decks, without compromising my sound,” she explains. CHAOS! is one of a handful of similar hardcore parties bringing the sort of unbridled experimentation usual of South Africa’s townships into its urban centres.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Chaotics represent a new wave of South African music that is pushing boundaries and redefining genres. With DJs and promoters like EetSleep and DAMAGE leading the way, the underground music scene in Cape Town and Johannesburg is more vibrant and eclectic than ever before.
FAQs
Q: What sets The Chaotics apart from other South African music artists?
A: The Chaotics embrace a diverse range of sounds and influences, combining genres like bass, footwork, hyperpop, and gqom to create a unique and dynamic musical experience.
Q: How has the music scene in South Africa evolved in recent years?
A: The music scene in South Africa has seen a shift towards harder, faster, and queerer sounds, with a new generation of DJs and promoters like The Chaotics pushing the boundaries of traditional genres.
Credit: djmag.com
