♫♪  Forgotten Souls - “Blow My Mind” (DJ Nerd Vocalist)

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FACT: There has been continuous dancing going on in some form everywhere in the world since 80s, and discerning DJs are constantly hunting for something new, exciting, raw, steeped in history, bursting with energy, hot to trot to take over clubs in London, Berlin, and New York. In the dance music economy, the act of breaking a localized scene to a larger audience has become invaluable to shaping global trends. Styles and genres that were previously disconnected can also join the party via the web, sending out their tracks to international label owners. One such international label of Taxicab trunk-rumbling mixtapes is Gqom Oh!. The label exports a hyper-local form of dance music from Durban, South Africa. The beats are the barest of structures, a smooth floor for swift feet, clattering hand drums, and ghostly vocals. Compiled in collaboration with the Italian collective Crudo Volta, while Gqom Oh! label boss Nan Kolè was in Durban working on the documentary Woza Taxithe tape resounds with a unique, fresh energy that is aggressive and physically captivating.

Allow me to warn you. This track, “Blow My Mind,” might be the only song you listen to for a while. Mawbestana of Forgotten Souls claims the song is composed from “Hlanganisa….is a zulu word literally translated as ‘putting together’; This refers to creating something out of the few elements available to you ‘…Just like when you scrap the bottom of a pan to get some food out of it.’” You might put it on every time you aux up in an Uber, and you might roll down the window and hang your torso out of the car, running your rings against the pavement, kicking sparks that make your teeth extra shiny. If you’re going to get reckless, be sure to stretch first. A physical tape version of Gqom Oh! X Crudo Volta mixtape can be pre-ordered from their Bandcamp.

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

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