VA - Mzansi Bass curated by Shannen SP (2026)

This one means a lot to us. A project we’ve been working on for a couple of years. One where we hand over the curatorial keys of the label to very specific artists in whom we have absolute trust and who have an almost academic knowledge of a specific rhythm or a specific region where our eyes and sensitivity cannot reach. In order to amplify powerful voices from the global south, where the true underground is happening today, and that move away from the traditional axis of New York, London, Berlin. We present to you: Mzansi Bass curated by Shannen SP.

Mzansi Bass spotlights the continuum of radical invention coming out of the South African electronic underground, exploring the spaces between 3-step, Gqom, the dark sides of Amapiano, and mutations of Pritori rap. The sounds are deeply rooted in Black African rave music from the local scenes of Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Eastern Cape, Pretoria and their global mutations from Brazil and the Netherlands.

At its core, the compilation was built through a process shaped by Johannesburg’s electronic underground culture; studio hopping, whatsapp groups, new tracks tested in cars on the way to the club, and similarly informed by Durban’s unique ecosystem where convoys of taxi drivers equipped with huge sound systems throw informal gqom raves, functioning as distributors when USBs change hands, circulating new sounds and styles before they reach any formal platform.

With both trailblazing acts like DJ Lag, and the next gen artists like Jay Music, the compilation became a home for experimentation and cross cultural collaborations, for example Lyzza’s Baile Funk vocals with Boniface on ‘Favelas’, or Shannen SP and Hennybelit’s Bacardi Gqom hybrid Mzansi Bass.

The compilation focuses on highly localised scenes that have broken international barriers with pure-emotionally-rich dance music and the artists pushing the boundaries of bass music in South Africa. The release works as both a celebration of the roots and the future offering it projects. As Shannen puts it, “it's electronic music that is embodied, trance-inducing and deeply physical”, built in a very particular geographic space for the whole world to enjoy.