August: 7 bass & club releases you need to hear this month

TLC Fam 'Isbethelo SeGqom' (Gqom Oh!)

Gqom Oh! was the first label to release a full-length compilation of gqom music, Durban’s signature dark bass sound, back in January 2016. Helmed by DJ Nan Kolè in Italy and Lerato Phiri in South Africa, their next record is by TLC Fam, a 23-member crew responsible for creating the “taxi kick”: a distorted, multi-layered hard kick made for the sound systems of the taxis in which gqom is played. Rowdy and roiling, ‘Isbethelo SeGqom’ maintains a propulsive energy all the way through its 10 tracks, in large part thanks to the group’s two main producers, Resto and DJ Magic. ‘Tribute To Nomfundo (Ladlal’iDark)’ combines an eerie string motif with a mixture of chanting, wailing and thumping breaks, while ‘Yash’impempe’ staggers woozily around the dancefloor, guided by piercing whistles. There are lots of sounds working in mild discordance with each other, which is mildly disorienting but in the best way, like when the strobe lights are flashing a little too fast in the dance. You get the sense that this music is truly born out of a group endeavour, which lends itself to an immense sonic fullness.

8/10