Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa

Love the likembé-twanging chaos of Konono No 1? Ever have a sneaky listen to Kraftwerk when the electro-mood hits you? Want something fast – really fast – to groove to? Whack this on the stereo then, and go. One of the most fantastic albums you're likely to experience all year, Shangaan Electro is a blurry snapshot of a musical movement from Soweto, South Africa, that looks set to take over the world. Both Britain's mainstream and style press have jumped on this album, just as they did with Konono's. Little wonder: with 12 highvelocity, genre-defying tracks crafted from marimbas, keyboards and drum machines, and mixed with vocals both live and processed, the disc is currently igniting dance floors from Jo'burg to NYC. It's rave music, but not as we know it: tracks by outfits such as the Tshetsha Boys, Mancingelani and BBC (Beautiful Black Culture) zoom along at 180 beats per minute. The traditional shangaan music found in Africa's south – particularly in rural Limpopo – is fast. But this stuff is faster than hummingbird's wings stuck on overdrive.

The brainchild of producer, talent scout and jack-of-all-trades Richard ‘Nozinja’ Mthethwa, Shangaan Electro cherry-picks the best of the genre's staggering output. Lyrics, for the most part, are in English and a clutch of local languages. ‘I want to make you mine, baby croons Zinja Hlungwani on ‘N’wagezani My Love’, his rich baritone in stark contrast to the Tshetsha Boys chipmunk yelps and digital bleeps. Love it or hate it, there is no doubting the audacity and ingenuity that's at work here.