came from his mind. Other times he hears
something he likes at a party or on the
radio and uses that as the basis for a new
tune.
“When I hear something I like I try to
record it on my phone straight away,” he
explains. “After that I go into the studio
to record it. And then I immediately take
it to the radio station to hear how
community people will react to the song.
If they don’t like it I just delete it.
“When I first made ‘Township Funk’ I took
it to a community radio station called Top
Stereo that broadcasts from a college in
Pretoria. Fans called in saying they
wanted to hear it again. The DJs at the
radio station liked it straight away too.
That’s when I thought it might do well.”
When Mujava DJs he uses CDs and plays a
mixture of tribal house from the likes of
MAW, King Unique and DJ Gregory mixed
with his own records, including ‘Baby
Latin’ and ‘Bass and Drums’. Regularly
dropped too is his saucy house tune
‘Please Mugwanti’ featuring rude rapping
about loose women in the local sotho
language and played alongside other
local underground classics like without the spread of technology, cheaper “I sent the video to Steve Beckett from the tune it just stuck in my mind.”
Casablanca’s ‘MZO Bullet’. computers and bootleg software. And Warp,” says Marcus. “He said he was up But Luke too had trouble getting hold of
when you listen to tracks like ‘Township for it but initially he was a little bit the track.
Rich African Flavour Funk’ you have an essence of the speed reticent and that’s why we didn’t get it “I contacted a guy from the forum and he
Marcus Scott, A&R for Warp and the and phrasing of what a good dancefloor for the UK in the end. This is Music got pointed me to a South African music
person who got the label switched on to record should be with local cultural there first. website,” says Luke. “I ordered a couple of
Mujava, remembers the first time he elements coming into the music. CDs. It took ages to get them in the post.
heard ‘Township Funk’. “It’s a hybrid of funky house and raw “It’s great to have nicked something from Sheer Music owned the publishing and
“I had that same kind of feeling as when I grime rhythmics with a rich African under the nose of Warp,” chuckles Luke had released it. I got in touch with them
first started listening to Wiley and Jamma flavour. You just wouldn’t get this music Williams of This Is Music. and eventually met a guy from Sheer at
tracks,” says Marcus. “It’s just really coming out of Berlin.” “I’m a member of geeky music forums South By South West in March. It was
innovative, powerful, punchy music made and blogs and one day I came across a there, face-to-face, that we did the deal
out of small individual elements. It’s truly Marcus first heard ‘Township Funk’ earlier discussion about modern African music. for the record.”
indigenous, created from the ground this year after picking up on a thread in a I’d heard of Kwaito before and been
upwards. music chat room and tracking down the vaguely interested but as soon as I saw Now, over two years since the track was
“It’s music that couldn’t have been made video on Youtube. the video for ‘Township Funk’ and heard first made, it’s wormed it’s way onto
Radio 1’s playlist. In a music industry
flooded with clever marketeering and
“You just wouldn’t
burgeoning hype machines and bloated
with self-promotion gone mad, ‘Township
get this music
Funk’ is proof that cream still rises to the
top.
coming out of “The record has gone down really well
with the fidgety house crowd,” reasons
Berlin.” Luke. “Ben UFO, who runs dubstep label
marcus scott
Hessle Audio, loves it and loads of other
a&r warp
DJs do too. But I’ve never met or spoken
to Mujava. He’s quite a mysterious
character and for a while we didn’t know if
he was going to pop up. Some said he was
in a mental institution. Some said he was
dead.”
But, like we said earlier, Elvis is alive and
well. And from his parents house in the
crime-ridden, house music-loving town of
Atterrdigeville he’s not quite aware of the
impact his tune has made in the UK.
“I’ve heard some people like it,” he says.
“I’m surprised really because this is just
music from Atteridgeville. It’s just the
music of young people over here.
“People here nowadays they hate slow
beats. They want to dance and keep on
dancing.”
148
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