EP. 12: IS THE AFRO HOUSE HYPE DYING?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Okay, guys. Episode 12. I think last week we mistakenly said episode 12, but this is episode 12. Welcome back to a new podcast. Everyone is a DJ. My name is Mono. In London, you got Wesley out in Toronto. What's happening, big guy?

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Bro, I'm good, man. Bright and early. It's Monday morning. You know, we're starting starting the week fresh, getting some shit done nice and early on the Monday. Bro, that's like that's how I like to approach things now, man. I just want to get up early, get some shit done, man. I feel like this age thing, bro. It's just one of those things, don't you think? Just get up. You get up with the birds now, bro.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

You get up with the yeah, shit, man. Crack of crack of crack of dawn.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Crack of dawn. Yeah, it's 7 a.m. here, which it's nice, though, man. I've been up for a couple hours now, but I feel like, bro, these days, like alarm, I wake up without my alarm. It's just like, I'm ready to go, man. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Oh, so your clocks went forward.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Clocks went forward. Yeah, that was a couple weeks ago now, though. So we're like, yeah, now four hours between us only, not five.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Okay. Our clocks go forward next weekend, so we've got another week, and then I guess it goes back to five, five hour difference. So I say, yeah, I think at the moment it's four hour difference. Okay. How was your weekend though, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Bro, it was good, man. I saw uh I saw an artist in Toronto here at a at an at a club called Future. Um, haven't seen him in a while. But um yeah, the rest of the weekend was pretty chill, bro. Saturday, just kind of catching up on errands, doing my thing, and then yesterday I was playing golf, but uh, bro, it was too cold. So like we called it early, like halfway through. We're like, yeah, fuck this. It's it's too much, bro.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

What was that your first uh golf session in a while?

SPEAKER_00 1:50

First golf session in a while, bro. Um bro, you play golf? Rusty, still rusty, or what? Yeah, I'm shit regardless, bro. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

No, I don't. I want to get into it, but I'm just not uh I've played it once. I was like uh at a stag in Hamburg in Germany.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

It's hard, man. It's hard. And I mean I grew up playing sports, any sport, and I was pretty decent. But golf, it's just a different type of movement. Yeah, it's just different. It's just different.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

So but it's an addiction, bro. It's like one of those things once you start and you get in it, it's no going back. Like that's it.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

It's expensive though, right? I mean, how how much do you think you spend in a year or just on your golf uh golf habit?

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Shit, dude. Like, I mean, not including the gear, but like around here is between like a hundred bucks to a hundred and fifty on average. And I play try to play almost every weekend during the summer season, so that's like about four months. So you can do the math on that, bro. It's it's quite a bit. It's quite a bit.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I'm sure it's worth it. I'm sure it's worth it. Um what else has been happening this weekend? Yeah, I had a gig here in London at uh a place called Tape. It's like a very popular nightclub here in London. It's usually hip-hop, so they have like big hip-hop artists like Gunner, Lil' Baby, Travis Scott, you know, those types of artists. But it's a decent brand. They've got branches in Lagos and other countries, so they do quite well, even in Ekonos now. Oh, wow. Okay, and yeah, so they're trying to do introduce more Afro House nights and Afro House events. So I played on Friday night with Bon Shopper. It was good to see him actually, although it was brief. Uh yeah, I saw Bon. Yeah, it was a nice set. It was a nice set. Sound system not the best, so they should definitely fix that. And that's one thing about a lot of venues, man. Sound system, bro. Sound system is critical, and and a lot of venues I think miss the mark when it comes to sound. Um, although the vibe is good, as a DJ, it's really difficult to feel the music if, again, well, number one, there were no monitors, right? So I couldn't really feel the sound. All I could hear was just the you know, the speakers in the room, but there was nothing close by. Yeah, there was nothing close by that I could feel. So although I could tell that people were enjoying the music, you know, me as a music fan myself, I couldn't really feel it like that, but it was fine, man. It was fine. I only played for like an hour and then and then handed over to Bun. But uh no, it was cool. It was cool. I think I like what they're doing. It's the type of Afro house that's that is a bit more, you know, commercial. They're trying to sell tables, there's a lot of girls and table service and and ballers. Yeah, it's that type of vibe. But it's cool, man. I think I'm less judgmental on the type of Afro house that people try to sell these days. You know, there's audiences that you have to serve, so it doesn't matter, you know, what what type of sound you're selling. I think if people spend money and they enjoy and they have a good time, let them let them do their thing, man. So it was a nice event. Yeah, apart from the the sound system.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Bro, you know, tape, tape for me, so for those that don't know, I used to uh I used to live in the UK. I did I did like my high school there. Yeah and um I was at a boarding school just outside London. And you know, when you're when you're in high school, you want to be you try to go out, you know, go to a few clubs here and there, but tape was the one that I always really wanted to go to and I could never get into. Could never get in? I never got in. But there were other clubs that you know you could get into, like Libertine and you know those kind of places. Um It's a very young crowd.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

It's a very young crowd. Again, I was literally in and out, got in there five minutes before the set, got my USB out, plugged it in. As soon as I finished, I was like to Bon, hey, what's up, man? You're looking good. Then I was out, you know what I mean? That's it. You didn't stick around for a set. No, no. I mean, you know, when you can tell, I've seen Bun so many times, and I was like, the first song that he played, I was like, okay, I know this one, I'm out. Yeah. Like it wasn't like uh, but of course, it's all of I love Bun. He's uh he's my guy. Um so yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Uh I think the next gig I've got is this Friday? Yeah, this Friday in Dublin. Okay, nice. Uh then in London again. So yeah, it's a decent time of the year. Decent, it's decent, it's decent.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

So for yeah, so I was I was out on Friday. Um I played, I I stuck around for half of his set, and the reason I'm not saying the guy's name is because we got into a bit of a sensitive topic about the state of Afrohouse right now, right? So we are chopping it up beforehand. We're talking about, you know, where the sound is going, you know, what he thinks, what he's been putting in.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

What about the conversation? Who started the conversation? Who was that?

SPEAKER_00 7:01

He was like, because we were talking about his his projects and his you know, extended projects and you know, you know, people he associates it associates with. And I'm being I'm being ambiguous here, guys, because I don't want to I don't want to throw the guy under the bus. I don't know if I should be saying this, but we're gonna keep it private. Is so we were just chatting. I I was asking him about you know, you know, what's going on, it's a different sound, and you know, he just started kind of chewing my ear off at that point because I think it's definitely you know a sensitivity of his. But what he was saying is that you know, he's being kind of forced to pivot in a new direction, and it's kind of a response to again, kind of conversations we've had before is like what are the top songs being put out? You know, you take a look at Make the Girls Dance as as kind of a prime example, and you know, why they're trying to find their own new lane in in a different kind of sound, right? So, you know, for him it was, you know, they gotta do something different, you know, they're not interested in participating in that uh that hype that's going on right now. And even his set, man, I mean, I probably stayed for about an hour for his set, and what I was used to seeing him a few years ago was completely different, and it just it just really wasn't for me, bro. It was like really like really housy, a bit techno, kind of dark, crowd enjoying it.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

I mean, that's I guess that's the that's the most important thing was the crowd enjoying the set.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

They were, they were, yeah. Crowd, crowd enjoyed. Um, I'll be honest, this venue I don't think has the best crowd, um, just generally. Um not the greatest crowd, but they were vibing, bro. They they got it.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Interesting, interesting. So what was the I guess the main point of the conversation or the the outcome and and uh the mardrop moment, I guess, where you were like, okay, they are pivoting as as a brand, as a label, as a he's pivoting as an artist.

unknown 8:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

But what made you say, okay, yeah, this this is something that is happening? It's not just a conversation.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Um, you know what, it had to do, you know, the the conversation kind of kept flowing, and it was like, okay, who is, you know, who else besides you know, some bigger names out there, who else is actually staying true and authentic to that like kind of Afro sound that it it started with, you know, when we were content creators, um, before that until now, and he said, have a look around, bro. Everybody's moving away, everybody's doing this. And he thinks he says this because everybody's kind of of the same opinion now that if you want to sell tracks, you kind of have to make a certain sound, which a lot of people are not too interested in doing anymore, right? So we're just chopping it up. I mean, we're we're talking about what is the sound? Like the Huguen sound, right? The Huguen sound, or even like a magnifique sound. Those are kind of the two sounds I guess he thought. If you want to sell if you want to sell and you want to tour and you want to stay touring.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

So tracks like tracks like I adore you, tracks like I don't know. Bam bam. So what what is I mean, a magnifique sound? What what do you think is a magnifique successful track that has come out recently? Um I mean, they've had a lot of artists on their label. I'm just trying to go through the catalogue.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Uh I want to say, like, you know, like Juno track, right? Yeah, Juno is the first one that comes to mind. I've actually got his uh Spotify pulled up here. So, you know, Last Dance, Get Hem Up, Heat, um, those kinds of sounds, but then uh, you know, before that, it was a more melodic kind of sound. So, what are what are some good examples of of that?

SPEAKER_02 10:43

More melodic types of sounds. I think I think if we're talking about Afrohouse, even Judo's not Afro House. Hougeo, I guess, is would be closer to Afro House just because of the soulfulness of the sound. I would say if you were to ask me, okay, which one is more Afro House, I would probably say Hougel, although I wouldn't attribute Afro House to that sound. Um But yeah, yeah, still, those are bad examples, I think, to to to kind of link to Afro House, but still I would say yeah, he's not wrong in saying that if you want to sell in 2026, these are the sounds that you have to make. Just look at B Port, right? Just look at Bport. I'll get it.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

So that that's what he was saying. I mean, long, long story short, right? So, you know, from my side, I was telling him about how like, you know, being a content creator, that the sole purpose of my page is to, you know, highlight recent events and artists and what they're doing all around the world. And then second to that is is new music, right? And you know, having that discussion about how much more difficult it is to get access to content that you can say, oh, this is Afrohouse, you know, or this is not, right? So you get a lot of clips, there's a lot of clips that's still floating around from the same guys that I've been following for years and years now. And um the music that they're playing has definitely shifted, you know, sort of across the board. I don't know if you you feel the same thing on on your channel as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Absolutely. I think this is why if you look at my page and just the activity and how much less um I post now. I mean, if I post now, and I'll be honest, it's a paid post, just because you know people know this now. I'm I'm I'm that is my main source of income. So I if if if it's a a track that I think it's cool and the offers is good, then I'll post about it and I'll push it. But yeah, if the sound doesn't really resonate with me, then I'm not gonna post about it. But yeah, two, three years ago I was posting a lot and the sound was a lot different, a lot more afro, a lot a lot more techie, um, and from different artists. I think that it's changed a lot. But now people are making music for other DJs, people are making music um for a certain stage. Um and I think I think that's the main driver, right? It's like, okay, what gets me gigs? What what sound is gonna get me uh in this in this category and it at this level and the way to figure out that that question is okay, who's selling? What artists are doing the best? What artists are are doing um doing well, and then you you follow you follow that that road.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

But exactly. So yeah, I mean I guess I didn't really answer your question. So the mic drop moment, absolute mic drop moment was is Afro House dead? Right? And from his side, it was basically like pretty much it's dying, you know, there's only a few. It's dying, it's dying. Okay, he didn't say it's dead, but you know what I mean? So it's like like if you really start to think about names here, like who is actually pushing the sound at the top top level?

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Okay, let's go through names. Let's go one for one and then let's see how quickly we just run out of names.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Yeah, yeah, there you go. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

Alright, I'll go first. I'll go Vanco.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Oh, Vanko, definitely a yes. Okay, top, top names, Shimza. Yes or no.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Shimza, we love you. But I I I I'm gonna push back, bro. We need another name. I'm gonna push back. So not Shimza. With all due respect, I'll push back.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Okay, how about a black coffee then? That that's like the biggest and most obvious one.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Sure, okay. Cairo.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

Cairo, 100%. And listen, the names that I'm mentioning are are names that uh haven't switched the sound. Yeah. Right. They're staying consistent from 2023, 2022, 2026. The sound has stayed consistent. It's their sound. You know what I mean? That's that's where I am that's what I'm going for. But also not to say that people shouldn't change their sound and they should stay the same, but you can still sense that that is their sound, and that is what they're pushing, and that is Alpha House. Do you know what I mean? And again, guys, this is not a conversation of keeping it real, people have changed, people are chasing the bag. No, no, no. We're just you know, having a conversation of who is pushing Alfred House before it blew up. Who is pushing that sound?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

No, I'm with you on that. So another name that comes to mind for me, Night Freak.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Good, good, good. Okay, Bon Shopper. Yes, Decampo. You know? Okay, Kitty Amore.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Oh man, I was gonna say she was she was up next for me. Yeah. She was up next. Uh okay, who was uh okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Damn.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

See? How would you how would you categorize Dlala Tuxin?

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Yeah, he sees he's he's like this blend of Afro Tech. Um, you know, you see he's he's a bit everywhere. Yeah, it's kind of like that. I mean there's names that that I've got in mind, but I'm also thinking of like people that are active out there gigging, you know what I mean? Okay. Um, I would say people like Argento Dust, MASH, FKA MASH.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Um Right. So so for me there's like there's a conversation here where you you know you can segregate it kind of like geographically, right? So if you take if you take the examples of the guys that are like a lot more Southern African based, you know, it's not the same conversation as those who are really on the road elsewhere. So big names in South Africa, Dark, Junior SA, um Citizen Deep, you know, those kind of guys. Um definitely still very prominent. And like that sound is is still there to stay, and it's the most popular sound in in Southern Africa right now. But if you take a look at advanced that were a lot more Afrohouse, especially in Europe, compared to now, it's it's I think things have changed, man, and it's it's sad, it's tough. Things have changed a lot.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

I think the next two or three years are gonna be fundamental, and this is like 2026 is where you need to kind of start making plans for what's gonna happen next, right? It's it's sink or swim. It's like do you change your sound right now, or do you figure out a way to to make Afrohouse um keep you know, stay and keep uh its its its stature and and level? Because I think you know I was I was saying this last week when I did the the panel with bad box, bodhisattva, uh heavy K. They also they're also saying that the ship the ship has sailed when it comes to Afrohouse, right? It's it's completely gone. Like now no one cares about where the sound comes from. It's all about okay, what is the sound that is top 10 B port, and how can I make that, and how can I also benefit from that and get gigs for myself? That is the mindset, that is the strategy for a lot of artists. Uh and I think over time, as that is the strategy, it's not about the sound, right? It's about what's what's popular. And that I think that's that's what's happened over time, is again we talked about this before we started recording. I always I always think that milkshake was the moment that changed everything, and that was the most popular sound that our Alex One formulated production. You know, obviously he came up with that, but to me that was that was it. Alex Juan made a certain sound, everybody started making that sound. We had guys like Martelou, we had guys like, I don't know, Montrouge, etc. etc. etc. benefit from it. And slowly, slowly the sound has shifted, and now we're getting into a more techier sound. We're getting guys like Sam Juno.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Um, so I I have a I have a question for you, right? So the way I think you can kind of look at things is that guys were always trying to make sound for you know the top DJs to play because you can you can potentially build a career from that, right? So going back, you know, first example was probably like black coffee. You know, everybody was starting to make music, so black coffee could play my song, get a good clip, go viral, all that kind of thing, right? Then what kind of happened is okay, Mujo with milkshake, you know, popularized, I think for the most part by kind of music playing it. Alex One. Alex Wan's milkshake, yeah. Kind of music playing milkshake. What did I say? You said Mujo. Oh shit, sorry. Um Alex One, Milkshake being played by kind of music. Yeah. Right? Kind of built a career from that, a lot of momentum, official remakes, the whole thing, right? Now into this next era of stuff, I think people are making starting to make music for for Magnifique and Salmon Ajna and Hugel and those kinds of things. So the the wheel turns on on that that that turnout of music is because you know producers are catering toward what's hot and what's not, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:50

Yeah, I mean that's what I was saying, but also I think that um people are also less Making music for other DJs to play. You think so? Yeah, I think before it was just like, all right, I'm just making this for kind of music. I'm going into the studio making music for Adam Port for Rampa and me to play. But now that they're not even releasing that much music, and we don't really know what music they're playing in their set like that, unless you're going to the shows. Yeah. People now think I'm almost like, okay, I don't know what Adam Port plays now. I don't know what Ramper plays now. And if I do see a video of them on social media playing a track, it's not that the old commercial afro house. It's a bit of everything, right? So now you're able to send them whatever. You're able to send them disco, you're able to send them a bit more electronic, tech year, groovier tracks. I think that's also changed the strategy and the outlook of a lot of artists. Because we've seen Conor music being a bit more versatile in their DJ sets. They're not just playing tracks like Move anymore. I think I think that's also changed massively. Massively. I think that's changed a lot. So you guys were saying Afro House is dead. So you get you left the conversation saying Afro House is dead. Or it's dying. We did.

unknown 23:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

We did, we did. So that was a thing, man. And like, you know, I've seen him play a bunch of times in in a variety of different venues and cities as well. And um I've never heard him play a set like he played on Friday night. And it was it was pivotal. It wasn't just like, you know, gradual, where it was a bit of a mix. It was for me, it was like definitely definitive that his sound in his sets have has changed and it's evolved and it and he's he's moved away.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Do you know what? I think we we should have, before this podcast started, compare releases and the sound that people were putting out in 2023, 2022, and the last release and and and compare how different the production of the sound is.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

That is a great conversation for listeners at home. Throw some throw some comments up, let us know, give us some good examples, and we can talk about it. In the top of my head. When did uh Shimsa Euphoria come out? Shimza Euphoria. I want to say beginning of 2025. Let me double check that one sec.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Shimza euphoria compare that to missing you. Right. Alex Rom no shade compared that to what's the what's the one in Notre Dame? In this city, fell in love in this city. Uh okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Sam Euphoria, euphoria was 2024, October, yeah. So there you go. October 2024.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

I mean, even Sam Sam's latest EP with with Frank Faller and Benja, that was completely like a Brazilian funk with with some groove and some, you know, I'm looking at Mujo Sound, right? If I'm looking at Mujo Sound, what was his latest release? Wasn't it uh Swy?

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Yeah, I mean his latest, it was Swing My Way, Z Roberto, uh those are kind of the two I think from recently. Oh Mimisiku, I guess that that was a bit uh but different as well. Different as well.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Um we can look at what's what's some other huge artists? Asna, man. The sound that Asna was pushing, I don't think it was ever kind of super Afro, but it was a lot groovier. But then if you look at a track like uh Bring in the Noise with Sentin. Different again. I think I think people are changing, but they're also making you know calculated business decisions. You know, people people want to play at Circo Loco, people want to play at Pasha, people want to play, you know, in these cool venues that now are pushing that sound. Um yeah, I was looking at the Scorpios, the Scorpios lineup, and I would say 80% of that is it's more kind of melodic. It's melodic house. Melodic house, I think, has become the new not the new Afro House, but has replaced Afro House in terms of um in terms of yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Like like its demographic or its target audience, right? Because you know, Scorpio, Shalona, you know, those kind of places, there was a time that was like peak, man, you know, for for R Sand, and now it now it's obviously transitioning away into something else, right? Yeah, I mean that's why artists like Aurotus now very popular.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

That sound just translates. People love that sound. Yeah, Shimza, extremely successful at the moment. But also, you know, we we talk about Shimza a lot, but his sets are very it's either very melodic, and then he he's like, okay, I'm still Shimza, and then he'll show you some super afro tracks. Yeah, you know, so he's he he does provide both sides. Um yeah, man, I think part of me is is is I don't want to say scared, but you're very concerned about what comes next and what you should do, and and because it could bro, it could completely die where it's like you know, where it's like it was was super hot for like two, three years, and then nothing. No one cares.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

But you know what? I I was having these conversations at you know a couple years ago with you know various people in the industry, and like you know when when like things need to grow organically for there to be that solid base of I guess longevity in in anything, right? You know, going to the gym, businesses, whatever, right? Things take time, you build slowly, solid framework, you know, behind the scenes. But I think with you know, Afro House, kind of music boom, you know, whatever you want to attribute it to, there's a lot of different arguments. I think it just became that exponential growth way too quickly, and then we're facing a kind of sharper decline than uh I would have liked. You know?

SPEAKER_02 28:59

That's that's a good way of putting it. And it's it almost happened over the span of like six months. Um for me, again, it started with milkshake, but then more recently, do you can you think about a time or a track that was like, alright, now we're switching over to a more melodic sound, a more a techier, a techier sound. Because it's it's I think it happened, it happened last year at some point. I would maybe early or mid mid last year.

SPEAKER_00 29:39

Um that is a good question, you know, because there's still such a variety of of different sounds out there.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

But listen, yeah, we're still getting Afro House tracks. I mean, I'm just looking at the top 10 now on B-port, not a lot. Um number 10, House on Frame, Feel Alive. House on Frame, they put out more European, but I think they they they do have some Afro Afro Tech elements on that label. Of course, Make the Girls Dance dominates a lot of a lot of that um that space and on Be Poor Afra House. Deco White Lines, of course, that's our track. I wouldn't say that's Afro House, honestly. That's that's completely melodic deep. Yeah. Masuma Mermaid, number five. Is that Afra House? Sure, but again, that is the kind of commercial one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

See, it's blurred lines now, right? It's blurred lines, you know, more or less for the most part. And um that's I guess the frustration that the conversation arose from from on Friday night. But you know, I want to talk about black coffee for a sec. So, you know, I think even black coffee sets have evolved, you know, from being a lot more Afrotech, sort of focused, you know, he's definitely shifting into a more, I wouldn't say melodic, but a definitely more housey, deep house, you know, sound. And you know, you take a look at Trippie S as an example, we were talking about it, you know, earlier. That's not Afro House either, right? But that's his latest release.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Trippy Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Trippy Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

Yeah. I mean, when I went to his set in London, one of the best sets ever. Okay. That I've ever seen. But it was definitely Afro. It was definitely Afro. But this is why it's the best, because he can fight, he he has this way of of making the sound almost like European techno without knowing, without feeling like it's European techno. Do you know what I mean? Like it's like it's weird, bro. You're listening, you're there, and you're like, this is definitely Afro, but something about it just feels like you're still at a techno party.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Yeah, listen, that that is a really good way to put it, actually. He's special like that.

SPEAKER_02 32:07

He's special like that because it's like he's definitely playing Afrotech tracks and Afrotech um like groove. But the way the vibe is set, the way he's dropping tracks, the way he's engaging with the crowd, the way of course the a cappellas come in, you know, it feels like a European techno set, but it's different, right? Because it's it's got that Afro Tech foundation. Uh and I don't I haven't seen many artists do that. I haven't seen many artists being able to put together something like that. But it takes time though, because I think a lot of artists now DJ style-wise, it's like I'm playing this track and I'm playing this track and I'm playing this track. Black Coffee doesn't DJ like that, bro. He's like, I'm playing this vibe and I'm gonna blend it with this vibe, yeah. And nothing feels like one track after the other. It's just like a complete journey. Which is hard, bro. It's hard.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

It's it is, bro. So I guess the question for you is who else at the the really top level? Like the pinnacle. We talked about upper echelon last week. Last week. Who at the top is really, really still pushing you know, on the genre's behalf?

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Really, really pushing. I think I think for me, Francis, I would say probably the most successful that's not named Black Coffee Shimza, yeah, that is releasing Afro House tracks. You know, I can go Yeah, I can go on his B port, and I'll do this alone on this podcast, but you know, we can go on his B port, and you know, he's got this kind of Afro House three-steppy sound um that he's got going on, which works, of course. Francis has those mega commercial tracks, um, but I would say he's doing a very good job at still pushing Afro House and being uh I guess a flag flag bearer for for the sound. Vanko again, but I think Vanko Vanko is at this fork in the road moment right now where Martin Sarney is not an Afro House track. It's not, yeah. Vanco, I love you. Martin Sani is not Afro House, but the tracks that he sends me are very Afro House, so it's gonna be interesting to see when he puts out these tracks, or if he puts out these tracks, what the reception is gonna be, right? Um he did really well with the remix of uh what's it called, man? Come on, Scissor, that's Scissor track. What's the track called?

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Um My Mind is blanking right now.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Bro, we should know this shit. But yeah, yeah, of that track. We can edit this bit. Um that remote uh yeah, Isaka, right? Isaka?

SPEAKER_00 35:25

Isaka, fucking hell, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Really, really well. Um Wolf, did he put out Wolf?

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Did Wolf come out? Have you heard Wolf? I don't think so. I've heard Wolf, yeah. I don't think it's out yet though.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

Okay, Wolf is not out yet. But yeah, man, he said he's he's send he sends me a lot of music, and I'm always like, damn. He's got a specific sound which is needed, I think, as a big artist. You want that that recognizing sound. Um yeah, yeah, man, it's it's it's yeah, we keep talking about other artists and and like even like a Kitty Amore, the last trash you put out. Um quite commercial after, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Absolutely. So I think that's that's the whole thing, right? Is that DJs are pushing into another sound, you know, generally across the board. Obviously, if you break it down DJ by DJ, artist by artist, you know, we can we can talk about each individually and and their journey, but it's definitely a trend where there's a sound that you know the world is kind of moving into, and that original, I wouldn't say original, but the Afro House from like three, four or five years ago has has has came and went for the most part. Right. Okay. But what I do think as well, not only on the artists and DJ side, if you take a look at event brands, you know, sort of globally and clubs around the world, you know, we touched on Shalona, we touched on Scorpios, they're not really putting or pushing out that kind of sound for their events as much as they were either, right?

SPEAKER_02 37:08

Yeah, yeah. But also it's it's it's a let's think about this, right? Let's think about this more from a business perspective. Who can afford kind of music? Not many brands, not many events, not many venues, even those the best ones can afford kind of music, right? And at the same time, the talent that you book is a specific talent, right? That connects with the to a specific demographic. These are all things that you have to think about when you're booking artists, right? So if you can't book the most expensive artists, right, then you go down the list, and as the sound changes, right now we're at this level on that list where the sound is this. Yeah. Right? So if these guys are getting all the bookings, then as an up-and-coming artist, you're like, man, they're getting all the bookings because they're making the sound. You're gonna be like, all right, I want to get bookings, I'm gonna start making the sound. That's also uh another way of looking at it, I think.

SPEAKER_00 38:13

No, you're absolutely absolutely right, yeah. Um I guess also from from that original, like I keep using the word original, it's not the right word, but the the Afro House circuit three, four years ago, you know, versus now it's very different. I mean, you what are some kind of like Afrohouse staple venues? First one that comes to mind is always Istar in Madrid. You know, I think they were pivotal in Europe to really push the sound. You know, they've they do still do some Afro House acts, but their sound has definitely changed, you know, with the younger demographic uh across the board. But you know, big event brands, I think one of the biggest still is Zazu in Amsterdam, they keep it OG. Uh Kunye, obviously. I'd like to see Kunye do a lot more cross-border stuff though.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Yeah. Yeah. I'm thinking because I played at Istar.

SPEAKER_01 39:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

And every time I every time I play there, there's certain tracks that you play. Okay. But as I was as I was thinking about this, you're like, man, since Move came out, how many like viral Afrohouse tracks have come out? Not that many. No. Yamore, Matinsani, Bam Bam. That's not really Afro House to be though. What else? What else? Like, it's tough, bro.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

Yeah, like I was thinking about that earlier, actually. Like, Firefire is obviously one of the biggest tracks. Is it Afro? Is it not? Tough conversation, right? I mean, yeah, that's that.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

Honestly, that's one of the best tracks to play. Every time I play it, crowd goes nuts.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

I mean, it is it is a it is a crowd pleaser.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

Crowd pleaser. But it I mean, that I think that maybe that's that's where the answer to this whole conversation is. Like, since Move came out in 2024, I think it's 2024. Yeah. How many viral Afro House tracks that I've done really, really well have come out?

SPEAKER_01 40:17

Yamore, Martinsani, Move. Black. Help me out. Guys, help me out.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

And again, we can argue are these Afro House, not Afro House? Fire Fire, a lot of streams. Yeah. Your body, Martin Lou, has a lot of streams. I I maybe I should have mentioned this track, but that track has a lot of streams. Go check it out. Like it's like 90 million streams. Is it Afro House? Probably not, but some people might be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

So the the question I have for you is like, what okay, this this alludes to kind of what we've been talking about, but for Afro House to be back and in full swing, like what what does it actually take? Do we need a few more hits, or is it a is it is it something else? Where's the problem?

SPEAKER_02 41:13

I think you've got to go back to the your voice era. To me, that that's the first thing I'm thinking about. Is is is that type of vibe, those types of moments where it's yeah, you kinda you can't quite put your finger on what makes the sound special, but it it feels fresh, it doesn't feel like it's a production that's trying to be this, it's it's trying to copy this, it's trying to copy this artist. Um but it is gonna require, I think, new elements, new sounds, more originality. Um and I think some artists that are doing that very well at the moment, we always talk about ape, right? Ape drums, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:06

We always talk about Bun Shopper, Fanko. Um who else?

SPEAKER_02 42:14

Who else would you put? Let's go. Like I think I think good chance, good opportunity of bringing Afro House back.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

I always I always you know want to give love to the Portuguese guys. I mean they're they're pushing, you know, they've got a good I think they've got their own thing as well, you know, Afra killers, Braith, 40 D, Jeff, Maith. Um you know, there's a lot of the Portuguese or you know, Angolan Afra House guys that I think are are super talented, and I don't think they've actually had their moment yet either. But they have it in them.

SPEAKER_02 42:45

They have it in them. Listen, shout out to Braith. He's I think he's definitely knocking with two hands. He's got two hands on the door and he's fucking knocking because Africana. Oh mate, big trackana, big track, and I think he's got another one coming out on Deep Root, but yeah, Braith, knocking, Afro Killers, of course, and and they've got we know this, right? They've got some amazing productions in the hard drive. Absolutely. But yeah, listen, I think I think where where where do we go from here? Again, I think the decrease is gonna keep happening. Absolutely, I think it's gonna keep happening, and you're gonna see less and less artists um making that sound. I mean, we know people very close to us that tell us, yeah, we're not Afro-As artists anymore. We do it-house, we're doing this hour. We hear this all the time. So, guys, that is that is a real conversation, it's happening. But I don't know, man. I don't know what happens next, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 43:50

Let's see. Let's see. But you know, guys listen at home, you know, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Obviously, let us know what you think about Afro House, where it's going. The next couple years. That was episode twelve. It's Wesley G and Manu. We'll talk to you next time. Peace.