Hakuna Kulala continue to spotlight Durban's boundary-pushing next generation with the debut album from 20-year-old producer Mariio, who reconfigures the gqom template, stitching staccato bass and industrial drums with rave synths and spiraling FX.
Released as part of Hakuna Kulala's gqom trilogy alongside DJ Scriby's "Izingoma zeGqomu" and DJ Skothan's "Nevegation", "Zulu-Man" centers the outsized talents of Mariio, a younger who started producing at age 12, teaching himself to use FL Studio by watching online production tutorials. Without other older artists guiding him through the creative process, Mariio developed his style instinctually, absorbing influences from music he heard online and augmenting his jerky dancefloor expressions with unique elements.
Out of all three sets, Mariio's is the most hybridized, inhabiting an outerzone space a few gasps out of step with the rest of Durban. Even on itchy opener 'Gqom NyeGe' you can clock the producer's originality as he curves psy trance risers into plodding dubstep womps, traditional gqom vocals and woodblock clonks. Mariio teams up with vocalist Hot Chicks on 'Ngom ya Phesh', meeting his chants with cyclic shovel-hit kicks and broken toy electronics, and he dials up the low end on 'umShini Odumayo' spraying mind-altering psychedelic synth FX over winding basslines and a driving beat.
There's a grimey edge to 'Ixhaphozi', where Mariio tweaks the bass to a squelch, tempering it with chaotic vocals and wiry oscillations. In eight tracks, the South African producer shows more energy and more inventiveness than most club producers manage in a career. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess, until then we've got a new brace of dancefloor heaters to keep us good 'n satiated.
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Hakuna Kulala continue to spotlight Durban's boundary-pushing next generation with the debut album from 20-year-old producer Mariio, who reconfigures the gqom template, stitching staccato bass and industrial drums with rave synths and spiraling FX.
Released as part of Hakuna Kulala's gqom trilogy alongside DJ Scriby's "Izingoma zeGqomu" and DJ Skothan's "Nevegation", "Zulu-Man" centers the outsized talents of Mariio, a younger who started producing at age 12, teaching himself to use FL Studio by watching online production tutorials. Without other older artists guiding him through the creative process, Mariio developed his style instinctually, absorbing influences from music he heard online and augmenting his jerky dancefloor expressions with unique elements.
Out of all three sets, Mariio's is the most hybridized, inhabiting an outerzone space a few gasps out of step with the rest of Durban. Even on itchy opener 'Gqom NyeGe' you can clock the producer's originality as he curves psy trance risers into plodding dubstep womps, traditional gqom vocals and woodblock clonks. Mariio teams up with vocalist Hot Chicks on 'Ngom ya Phesh', meeting his chants with cyclic shovel-hit kicks and broken toy electronics, and he dials up the low end on 'umShini Odumayo' spraying mind-altering psychedelic synth FX over winding basslines and a driving beat.
There's a grimey edge to 'Ixhaphozi', where Mariio tweaks the bass to a squelch, tempering it with chaotic vocals and wiry oscillations. In eight tracks, the South African producer shows more energy and more inventiveness than most club producers manage in a career. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess, until then we've got a new brace of dancefloor heaters to keep us good 'n satiated.
Hakuna Kulala continue to spotlight Durban's boundary-pushing next generation with the debut album from 20-year-old producer Mariio, who reconfigures the gqom template, stitching staccato bass and industrial drums with rave synths and spiraling FX.
Released as part of Hakuna Kulala's gqom trilogy alongside DJ Scriby's "Izingoma zeGqomu" and DJ Skothan's "Nevegation", "Zulu-Man" centers the outsized talents of Mariio, a younger who started producing at age 12, teaching himself to use FL Studio by watching online production tutorials. Without other older artists guiding him through the creative process, Mariio developed his style instinctually, absorbing influences from music he heard online and augmenting his jerky dancefloor expressions with unique elements.
Out of all three sets, Mariio's is the most hybridized, inhabiting an outerzone space a few gasps out of step with the rest of Durban. Even on itchy opener 'Gqom NyeGe' you can clock the producer's originality as he curves psy trance risers into plodding dubstep womps, traditional gqom vocals and woodblock clonks. Mariio teams up with vocalist Hot Chicks on 'Ngom ya Phesh', meeting his chants with cyclic shovel-hit kicks and broken toy electronics, and he dials up the low end on 'umShini Odumayo' spraying mind-altering psychedelic synth FX over winding basslines and a driving beat.
There's a grimey edge to 'Ixhaphozi', where Mariio tweaks the bass to a squelch, tempering it with chaotic vocals and wiry oscillations. In eight tracks, the South African producer shows more energy and more inventiveness than most club producers manage in a career. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess, until then we've got a new brace of dancefloor heaters to keep us good 'n satiated.
Hakuna Kulala continue to spotlight Durban's boundary-pushing next generation with the debut album from 20-year-old producer Mariio, who reconfigures the gqom template, stitching staccato bass and industrial drums with rave synths and spiraling FX.
Released as part of Hakuna Kulala's gqom trilogy alongside DJ Scriby's "Izingoma zeGqomu" and DJ Skothan's "Nevegation", "Zulu-Man" centers the outsized talents of Mariio, a younger who started producing at age 12, teaching himself to use FL Studio by watching online production tutorials. Without other older artists guiding him through the creative process, Mariio developed his style instinctually, absorbing influences from music he heard online and augmenting his jerky dancefloor expressions with unique elements.
Out of all three sets, Mariio's is the most hybridized, inhabiting an outerzone space a few gasps out of step with the rest of Durban. Even on itchy opener 'Gqom NyeGe' you can clock the producer's originality as he curves psy trance risers into plodding dubstep womps, traditional gqom vocals and woodblock clonks. Mariio teams up with vocalist Hot Chicks on 'Ngom ya Phesh', meeting his chants with cyclic shovel-hit kicks and broken toy electronics, and he dials up the low end on 'umShini Odumayo' spraying mind-altering psychedelic synth FX over winding basslines and a driving beat.
There's a grimey edge to 'Ixhaphozi', where Mariio tweaks the bass to a squelch, tempering it with chaotic vocals and wiry oscillations. In eight tracks, the South African producer shows more energy and more inventiveness than most club producers manage in a career. Where he goes from here is anyone's guess, until then we've got a new brace of dancefloor heaters to keep us good 'n satiated.