Ayobaness! The Sound of South African House

‘This is the new Africa,’ declares the liner notes. But it isn't really. House music has been thudding out of downtown Jo'burg and other urban centres for a couple of decades now, emerging at shebeens and clubs in townships from Alexandra to Pretoria. While kwaito elbowed South African house over to the sidelines for much of the 90s, the genre is back and booming, as if it's never really been away. This brand of house music is particular to the country, of course: here rootsy African rhythms and soulful vocals by the likes of Hugh Masekela, Thandiswa and Busi Mhlongo are mixed with digital dance sounds, and the tech-savvy, club-loving kids just can't get enough. These days most house records released in South Africa – and that's whole a lot of records – are made in South Africa. And the scene is getting bigger.

All house music is here, whether it's deep house, tribal house or electro. There's poppy, happy house, such as the anthemic ‘Nisho Njalo’ from DJ Cleo, a young artist and producer who learned his craft at the knee of big name kwaito craftsmen; and the title-track, ‘Ayobaness’, by the comic and musician Pastor Mbhobho (who made up the word, which basically means ‘feeling good’). To that we might add mbaqanga (traditional Zulu guitar) house and a whole lot of other houses. Creative, innovative and proudly African: it's world music, Jim, but not as we know it.