WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT AMAPIANO?
In just a few years, the genre known as Amapiano has gone from a local South African trend to an international phenomenon, finding its way onto dance floors across the globe thanks to widely recognized artists like DBN Gogo, Focalistic, Major League DJz, and more.
Since the 1980s, South Africa has been a hub for electronic and dance music — from “bubblegum”/township pop to kwaito, bacardi, soulful, deep, tribal, Afro house, gqom, Afro tech, and many other variations in between. Each generation has pioneered a new subgenre that emerges either locally, or one imported and adapted for the local market. Amapiano, or “‘piano” as it is affectionately known, is the country’s latest explosive take on house music.
“Amapiano is a form of expression and getaway for the youth of South Africa,” shares DJ/producer duo Major League DJz. “It expresses the struggles and enjoyments that the youth go through on a daily basis.The music, dances and style is a way for them to showcase to anyone that cares to watch the pure essence being youth in South Africa.”
Debates about the genre’s exact origins are ongoing, but most artists generally agree that it was born in the townships of Johannesburg and Pretoria in the country’s Gauteng province around 2012. Much like its predecessors, amapiano was initially a byproduct of the manipulation of house tracks, through slowing them down to a lower BPM.
As an unorthodox offshoot of soulful and deep house in its infancy, many purists used to shun the sound and its sonics. Some argue that the term “amapiano” arose to mock the squeaky piano/organ solos and licks that were omnipresent in the genre’s early days. Before the name stuck, fans of the sound used to refer to it as i-number (which loosely translates to a ‘great track’).
Against the odds, amapiano became popular around the neighbourhoods of Katlehong, Soweto, Vosloorus and Alexandra. And soon after, forward-thinking producers began to craft their own syncopated, mid-to-down tempo broken beats. The compositions were often underpinned by rattling shakers, luminous synths, throbbing percussion, jazzy chord progressions and woozy basslines.
DJ/production duo MFR Souls (Maero and Force Reloaded, who are widely regarded as the genre’s pioneers) then became known not only for their seminal Musical Experiences mix series and performances (which included live keyboard improvisations), but for their original compositions as well. Alongside them were other equally talented and inventive producers such as Calvin Fallo, Josiah De Disciple, Gaba Cannal, Kota Embassy, and Kabza De Small.