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Video: South African Shangaan Electro

Located on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Soweto is known to outsiders mainly as the location of the Soweto Uprising of the 70s and other tumultuous events that took place during the Apartheid era of South Africa. Nowadays however, it’s become an eclectic cultural hub and Soweto’s musical scene is beginning to surpass the area’s previous political reputation with the birth of musical styles such as Kwaito in the 90s, and more recently, a genre that is known as Shangaan electro.

Today’s Shangaan electro was pioneered by cell phone repair shop owner turned musician and record label guru Richard “Nozinja” Mthethwa in 2005 by re-working and speeding up the tempo of traditional Shangaan music. Unlike the original sound of Shangaan that ran at around 110 BPM, with the help of synthesizers, MIDI keyboards and marimba rhythms, Shangaan electro beats hit the 180 BPM mark and create an infectious new wave sound that’s intensely quick, but surprisingly easy on the ears. These hyperactive pulsating rhythms are paired with some pantsula-inspired moves and hip action, that isn’t easily imitated, called the Xibelani dance and is usually performed by Shangaan women. 

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