MUSIC JOURNALISM & REVIEWS

TAKE A LOOK AT MY SCENE REPORTS, INTERVIEWS, REVEWS AND LISTS HERE…

OR, THERE’S ALWAYS MUCKRACK.

A GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN DANCE MUSIC - THE FACE - MAY 2024

South Africa has a deep history of incredible club music, and right now it’s having another renaissance. Here’s a definitive guide to genres such as gqom, amapiano, bacardi, Afro-house and more.

WHAT IS 3 STEP? 12 ESSENTIAL TRACKS - RESIDENT ADVISOR - MAY 2024

Frigid Armadillo and the future of Afro‑house - pan frican music february 2023

Shiba Melissa Mazaza spoke with Frigid Armadillo about finding success and feeling the sound in the ever-changing landscape of Afro-house from it's drum heavy origins to modern gentrification for the release of their new EP, Penga.

Read all about amapiano’s torch-bearers of the moment at dj mag here,

and LEARN ABOUT AMAPIANO’S RISE AT resident advisor, here.

Read MY REVIEW OF citizen deep’s “dtjoh” with jessica lm at resident advisor, here.

crack magazine x amsterdam dance event 2022: between the tracks

HOW BLACK WOMEN AND QUEER COMMUNITIES ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN ELECTRONIC MUSIC - mixmag august 2022

Shiba Melissa Mazaza examines how, in the face of male gatekeeping, misogyny and transphobia, Black women and people from queer and marginalised communities are setting the example for the future of African electronic music

MIXMAG COVER STORY - FEBRUARY 2022

THE WOMEN OF AMAPIANO - PAN AFRICAN MUSIC - OCTOBER 2021

From “private school” icons to new school trailblazers, these women are shaping amapiano’s meteoric rise on the global electronic music scene. Follow the “Women of amapiano” playlist on Spotify

THE SOUND OF GONDWANA KE - DJ MAG SEPTEMBER 2021

Kenya’s foremost afro-house label shares their story.

A CURIOUS LISTENER’S GUIDE TO AFRICAN MUSIC - THE FACE AUGUST 2021

Dropping a few amapiano tracks in your DJ sets? Please, do your research. Here’s a guide to help you explore.

AMAPIANO NOW - DJ MAG AUGUST 2021

NTS Radio, Shannen SP and Joe Cotch compile essential tracks that capture the unique and unifying sound of amapiano, South Africa’s world-conquering dance music style

WOMEN SHAPING AFRICAN DANCE MUSIC - MIXMAG april 2021

Featuring Sio (South Africa), Ms Selfie (Zambia), Niniola (Nigeria), Labdi Ommes (Kenya), TMSKDJ (Ghana), Hibotep (Somalia/Uganda) & more.

APRIL’S COLUMNS - AMAPIANO TAKEOVER - DJ MAG april 2021

BLACK COFFEE’S TALKS ABOUT HIS LATEST RELEASE, ‘SUBCONSCIOUSLY’ - mixmag MARCH 2021

resident advisor re-record: celebrating 120 black artists in electronic music - ra JANUARY 2021

Re-record is a project made to highlight Black artists who've had an impact on electronic music's development, by releasing or performing their own music during this period, in a way its authors feel demands greater recognition on platforms like RA. Staff members, regular contributors and journalists with niche genre or regional knowledge submitted candidates and voted in a shared spreadsheet. The artists that received the highest number of votes were then filtered down based on how comprehensively they'd been featured on RA in the past. Of the final list, 76 artists earned their place democratically, and the remaining 44 were picked from the initial nominations on a case-by-case basis, with the ensuing writeups capped at 200 words.

IMPACT - FKA MSH - MIXMAG, January 2021

Fka Mash's EP 'Love Songs From Soweto' takes inspiration from musical styles that were pioneered in the face of - and overcame - colonial oppression

THE BEAUTIFUL CHAOS OF AMAPIANO - MIXMAG, SEPTEMBER 2020

At its heart, Amapiano is about the people. Could this new genre be tapping into a collective subconscious of the Black experience?

FOCALISTIC’S 2020 VISION FOR AFRICA - CITY PRESS, DECEMBER 2020

If anyone can say that they’ve come out of this tumultous year for the music industry relatively unscathed, it’s Focalistic.

THE ARCHIVES