Hard to believe that such a dire and dramatic year could inspire such an abundance of remarkable albums. Or maybe, on the contrary, the multitude of emotions sparked by the pandemic and our new life’s circumstances might have been the main reasons why musicians were able to write, record and...
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![Album Review: Spoek Mathambo – Tales From The Lost Cities [TEKA Records; February 2020]](http://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/spoek-mathambo-tales-335x335.jpg)
‘Remember back when good rap was just a cool dance hit / Even though it wasn’t saying shit’, Paris spat on his militant debut The Devil Made Me Do It. Released only three months before Rodney King’s assault, it made an accurate prediction about the future of hip-hop. Try looking...
It’s been 15 years since Nthato Mokgata, better known as Spoek Mathambo, began composing, producing and releasing music and in the 15 years of doing so, he has also brought the South African scene forward. We don’t like to make extensive use of words like tastemaker or trendsetter, but in...
It doesn’t happen everyday that online music platforms champion the cause of musicians, but Bandcamp has showed us, more than once, to be different from the vast majority of music platforms. Today (until 11.59PM Pacific Time), to support all the artists affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oakland-based company will...
Six days and six gigs to understand the present and foresee the future of global music. That’s what will happen between the 15th and 20th of May at Rich Mix, when Serious will take charge of the venue’s main space and present the 2017 edition of Serious Space Shoreditch. Throughout...
![Album Review: Spoek Mathambo – Mzansi Beat Code [Teka Records, 14th April 2017]](http://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/522605831-335x335.jpg)
The first time I heard Spoek Mathambo I was blown away. The dark energy, the powerful beat, the slightly disturbing, distorted voice – his cover of Joy Division’s ’She’s Lost Control’ truly sounded like something new and unexpected. I knew very little of the South African electronic music scene and...
South Africa has long been a prime breeding ground for fresh African talent and ideas, and Batuk are certainly bringing something new to the table. The three-piece-collective from Johannesburg is formed by established electronic/kwaito producers Aero Manyelo and Spoek Mathambo, and eclectic vocalist Manteiga. Together they have created a house driven sound, which is...
15/10/2016 7:00 pm - 10:30 pm Spoek Mathambo Presents: Batuk + Afrikan Boy The Jazz Cafe, London