Township electronica

Playlist Township electronica, from the soporific bounce of kwaito to frenetic digital-folk syncopations.

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Kwaito: South African Hip-Hop Earthworks (2000)
Despite this compilation's somewhat misleading title, kwaito is more closely linked to US dance music than hip-hop. Full of slow, stompy rhythms and contagious vocals, Earthworks' 2000 retrospective gives a fantastic overview of the style including Brenda Fassie's anthemic Vulundlela.

Edladleni Vol 1 Katsaitis Music (2007)
With each region offering its own distinct variant, house is now the dominant form of street music in South Africa. Hailing from the province of Mpumalanga, Sdunkero's work blends the soulful influences of classic Chicago producers such as Larry Heard with a raw, rhythmic tension all of his own.

Township Funk Warp (2007)
The release of the Pretorian DJ Mujava's Township Funk on the British independent label Warp Records occurred without fanfare. A couple of months later, though, the song had become an indisputable smash, remixed countless times and shaking dancefloors from London to Los Angeles.

Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music from South Africa Honest John's (2010)
Combining electro bleeps with the hyperspeed intensity of traditional Limpopo folk music, this collection of songs from Soweto's Nozinja Music Productions studio is exhausting, demented and just plain brilliant.