2022 Year In Review: Rising Zimbabwean Dance Musicians
Looking back at the strides that have been made by Zimbabwean dance musicians, based locally and abroad in 2022.
This issue is a piece I have been looking forward to writing. Zimbabwean artists have been creating some of the most exciting dance music and it seems there has been a kind of parallel yet collective come-up. From raking in millions of streams with viral tracks, getting support from some the world’s most renowned DJs, and pushing creative boundaries, I feel so happy seeing our very own people rise to the occasion and show the world that we too, can deliver top tier electronic music. Without further ado, here are the Zimbabwean musicians who’ve been doing great things in the dance/electronic scene.
Nitefreak
I came across Nitefreak on Twitter after seeing some of my Bulawayo-based mutuals interact with him on that platform. My initial impression was that he was a fairly popular niche DJ as I had seen promotional materials from clips playing local events to posters of him billed as an act for some continental events. What I did not know was that Nitefreak made his own music too. It wasn’t until a friend of mine messaged me a snippet of Nitefreak performing his remix “Premier Gaou“ by Francis Mercier and Magic System just days before its release in early November 2021 on Spinnin’ Deep, that my interest in him was aroused.
Nitefreak’s remix of “Premier Gaou“ is an afro-house remake sampling Magic System’s signature song of the same name. This track really captures the essence of what remixing is all about. It is a complete reimagining of the jovial and upbeat Zouglou original juxtaposed with sombre lyrics, with Nitefreak taking on us a sonical journey navigating the darker and reflexive terrains of afro-progressive house. The vocal here sounds tribal and entrancing, and this makes for a divine listening experience. The track has become an afro-house hit, accruing over 3 million streams on Spotify alone since its release. The track has gotten a lot of international support too, most notably from Diplo during his Tomorrowland 2022 set in Belgium.
The momentum hasn’t stopped here, he has gone on to release the captivating afro-house original track “Ayibobo“ alongside Francis Mercier and Lenny Auguste on Mercier’s label, Deep Root Records. Pressing on with the remix agenda, he has put out remixes of “Sete” by BLOND:ISH, Francis Mercier, and Amadou & Mariam (sampling “Se te djon ye“ by Amadou & Mariam) on Insomniac Records as well as “Ode Ireti“ by &friends, El-Jay, and Oluwadamvic via Hidden Hands. These are some tracks that best exemplify his sound, all being noteworthy follow-ups to the breakout hit that is “Premier Gaou,“ steadily amassing streams in the hundreds of thousands. His success has landed him a spot on the 1001 Tracklists “Future of Dance“ initiative which spotlights ground-breaking women and POC producers. Nitefreak is on the up-and-up and showing no signs of slowing down.
You can find Nitefreak on Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and wherever you listen to music.
Kooldrink
South Africa-based producer Kooldrink initially broke through during the rise of amapiano circa 2020 with “Getting Late“ alongside Tyla. That song was a strong breakout hit, powered by crossover appeal it demonstrated at the time. Where most early amapiano hits tended to be more suitable for clubbing and festival settings than casual listening, Kooldrink and Tyla churned out a banger that did it all. “Getting Late“ was as much radio-friendly as it was festival ready, as Kooldrink’s minimalist use of the log drum and Tyla’s polished vocals came together resulting in an amapiano track that could sit right at home on a pop/R&B playlist. Of course, we cannot talk about this song without talking about the viral music video that backed its notorious traction, as track was touted as the “amapiano that went to private school.” Kooldrink has continued pioneering his trademark pop-piano sound since then, delivering an amapiano remode of Ed Sheeran’s mega-hit, “Bad Habits“ in 2021 which raked in over 700 thousand Spotify streams. In July 2022, Kooldrink returned with a collaboration alongside British songstress Aluna (of AlunaGeorge fame) and Nigerian pop artist Prettyboy D-O on the single “Nowhere to Hide,“ issued on Diplo’s label, Mad Decent.
“Nowhere to Hide“ became the first Amapiano track to land on Spotify’s mint playlist (the biggest dance/electronic music playlist on the platform nearing 6 million followers), while also getting this trio promoted on the cover of Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. That platform editorial support certainly had a hand in the streaming success of “Nowhere to Hide,“ sitting pretty at over 2.6 million streams to-date. As a skilled musician who definitely knows his way in the music business, it’s only a matter of time and a few more hit records under his belt to truly solidify his brand.
You can find Kooldrink on Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and wherever you listen to music.
Junior Simba
Junior Simba is an independent house music producer based in Leeds, England. The most fitting term to describe the kind of music that Junior Simba makes is eclectic. I’ve been keeping an eye on him since 2020 when he released his remix of Liguori’s “Off My Shoulders,“ delivering a hard hitting pop-adjacent basement vibe that will have you throwing up DJ hands. He returned in 2021 with several grungy house singles that encapsulated the energy of an underground basement rave. The most successful of these releases being “Kingdom“ with Vanessa Chisakula, who delivers a chilling spoken word piece telling of how she’s not scared of anything but the devil on a haunting introspective beat. Junior Simba started off this year strong, releasing the quirky and energetic single “Precision“ in late January through his imprint, Simba Sounds. “Precision“ is a retro-infused groovy dancefloor filler with repetitive lyrics that beckon us to “feel my vision, cutting with precision.” The track immediately received support from renowned BBC Radio 1 DJs Pete Tong, Sarah Story and Danny Howard among other tastemakers, whilst collecting over 200,000 Spotify streams to-date.
Not long after that, he proceeded to release “Let Me In” and “KMT“ with Part Four Records in March and June respectively. “Let Me In“ is an airy minimalistic house track, with the female vocal asking if you’d let her in when she comes to your place over a pensive four-on-the-floor beat that really makes you think about the question being posed to you. “KMT“ channels the same 90s rave energy as “Precision,“ this time incorporating funky basslines and slick slicing before a sultry female vocal expresses to her lover that she wants to feel a love that’s deeper she’s ever felt. Both singles have been streaming well on Spotify, with the former eclipsing 380,000 streams, while the latter is at 191,000 streams. In the second half of the year, Junior Simba issued the singles “Hair Like You“ and “Kutamba“ via French record label Kitsuné Musique, as well as “Chaos Theory“ on Rollerblaster Records. To top off the eventful year he had, Junior Simba was shortlisted for this year’s BBC Introducing Dance Artist of the Year at the BBC Radio 1 Dance Awards. The only way is up for Junior Simba.
You can find Junior Simba on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, and wherever you listen to music.
TAPIWA
Harare-based producer TAPIWA kicked off 2022 in a massive way after releasing the collaborative single, “you’re like a dream” alongside New York-based producer warner case on Unity Records in January. Prior to this, he had officially released a couple of remixes by two other American electronic acts back in 2020: “Senses“ by KINGDØMS and “us“ by Steve James, each acquiring a modest thousand plus streams to-date. He has been releasing unofficial remixes through SoundCloud too, such as the house-infused reimagining of Kae Chaps’ “Juzi“ and Rome in Silver’s “Fiore.“ However, “you’re like a dream” was his breakout track putting him on notice within the dance music industry, and garnering support from one of the world’s biggest EDM stars, Martin Garrix himself, as it was added to the Martin Garrix Radio playlist on Spotify. The song has cumulated over 120,000 streams on Spotify to-date.
“you’re like a dream“ is a minimalist house track with rich texture. Replete with bleeps, ad libs and a stank bassline to boot, warner’s whispery vocals remain clear and centre-stage as he sings “Open my eyes to a new way of being / Is this real life? / Baby you’re like a dream.“ The production here is par-excellence. This track is a testament to the positive potential provided by social media to create and collaborate with like-minded people in different parts of the world, as warner case and TAPIWA have never met in person before. They connected through Soundcloud and started exchanging demos, eventually landing on one that resulted in this track. Tapiwa went on to release an unofficial project, Summer 2k22 Edit Pack, which is available on SoundCloud. The project contains 4 tracks: the original “Paje Paje Clubtool,“ and reworkings of Mgarimbe’s “Sister Bethina,“ Pinkpantheress’ “I Must Apologise,“ and The Naked and Famous’ “Everybody Knows.“ The Summer 2k22 Edit Pack indicates that TAPIWA is not an artist who can be put in a box, as he continues experimenting with his sound. “Paje Paje Clubtool“ and the “Sister Bethina“ remix have attracted support from Japanese radio host Takeru John on TCY Radio and Karen Nyame KG on NTS Friday, respectively. The future is looking bright for TAPIWA and I’m excited to see what’s next for him.
You can find TAPIWA on Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud, and wherever you listen to music.
Happy holidays
I hope you enjoyed reading this latest update of Kooder Is Rinsing. Consider this my Christmas gift to you lol. If so, please use the share button send this blog your friends via Twitter, Facebook, email, or to copy the link and share on your platform of choice.
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I leave you with the original Kooder Is Rinsing Spotify playlist with some of my favourite dance tracks right now, embedded below. To preview the tracks, press the play button. To listen to the full tracks, press the Spotify button which will open the playlist in Spotify. Be sure to like the playlist and it will be saved in your library. Happy listening.
Compared to mine that is a very comprehensive year in review!