ALBUM PRE-ORDER: https://hakunakulala.bandcamp.com/album/the-gqom-trilogy

HK040 – DJ MARIIO – ZULU MAN

Now 20-years-old, DJ MaRiiO started producing when he was just 12, learning the ropes by watching YouTube tutorials. “No one told me how to use FL Studio,” he admits, “and no one helped me doing different genres.” This might be why his music sounds so completely unique; the basic structure of gqom is still present, but MaRiiO augments these elements with a youthful energy and carefree use of unusual sounds and production methods.

“Zulu Man” opener ‘GQom NyeGe’ manages to mash together trance synths, DMZ bass and a driving woodblock rhythm that reminds you of its Durban roots, while the bizarre ‘Ngom ya Phesh’, featuring MaRiiO’s regular collaborator Hot Chicks on vocals, pushes the gqom template into the red, with overdriven kicks and disorienting environmental sounds. His self-taught production style is fresh and unpredictable, driven by a desire to challenge the established norms that have propped up gqom for too long.

‘iZandla’ seethes with classic gqom energy, but stretches rubbery bass sounds and dissociated vocals around stuttering rave synths and driving kicks, while ‘uShukela’ (also featuring Hot Chicks) is the album’s most propulsive cut, matching overdriven industrial drums with bouncy melodic vocals and spiraling FX.

“ZULU MAN” is a loud and satisfying statement from Durban’s next generation, showing the genre’s mischievous DIY side and signaling where gqom might head in the years to come.

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