Xitsonga Dance - Heke Heke / Hoza

Richard ‘Nozinja’ Mthethwa is a producer, singer, label owner and originator of Shangaan electro, a style he began in 2005 when he combined the traditional marimba based Shangaan music of South Africa’s north-eastern Limpopo province with electronic instrumentation and faster tempos. With thousands of records a year already being sold, the popular local movement eventually caught the ear of Brooklyn radio producer and manager Wills Glasspiegel and the London label Honest Jon’s, who have released both a ‘Shangaan Electro’ compilation and a ‘Shangaan Shake’ remix album in the past couple of years.

For this latest project under his ‘Xitsonga Dance’ alias the prolific musician eschews the plaintive vocals that made him such a recognisable figure during Shangaan’s first global flowering for two wildly frenetic but beautifully rounded tracks. Set for release on Dan Snaith’s Jiaolong imprint, they are a fine addition in the label’s simple quest for forward-thinking, dancefloor-centric music that aims for the head, heart and body simultaneously. Stream Heke Heke and Hoze below: