History will remember DJ LAG as a pioneer who propelled the quintessentially
Durban Gqom sound beyond the confines of the South African coastal city,
straight into the capitals of the international electronic music industry.
At first listen, it might not appear that Gqom’s minimalist, bass-heavy sound
would take Lwazi Asanda Gwala from Clermont township in Durban to
commanding dancefloors in Europe, Asia and, more recently, America. But DJ
Lag’s superb production skills have played a big part in transforming a
sub-genre of house – one that began by soundtracking taxi trips around
Durban - to an enviably innovative participant in the global scene.
FACT Magazine was one of the first global publications to embrace DJ Lag’s
sound this year, stating, “The Durban-based producer is one of the pioneers of
gqom – South Africa’s phenomenal strain of DIY house that has found adopters
all over the globe – and his mix is a buffed-up glimpse of the genres’s urgent,
menacing 4/4 battle cry”. In its review of his EP Trip to New York, Pitchfork
described the independently released as “a dancefloor travelogue, ostensibly,
a celebratory milestone for a young artist on the move”. Resident Advisor
singled out the EP’s title track as a real standout, saying “Of the two originals,
both of which use the same vocal sample, "Trip To New York" is the must-have
dance floor belter. It has motorik snares and toms, layers of percussive vocal
shouts that rub against bass drones, foreboding two-note strings and a funky
bassline.”
DJ LAG's fan exclusive 3-track EP Trip to New York was distributed fre
joining the likes of ASAP Ferg and ACTRESS at being part of this high-profile
New York festival. October has also seen DJ Lag headlining RADAR Radio’s 3rd
Birthday at London’s Pickle Factory and play his second Boiler Room, this time
as part of the London line-up.
Since he first surfaced several years ago, DJ Lag has played several major South
African events, including the 2016 Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and
the 2015 Johannesburg-leg of Boiler Room. He also shared a platform with
electronic music heavyweights Skrillex and Euphonik at the Bridges For Music
knowledge-sharing workshop held in Kliptown, Soweto, in February 2016 and
closed off that year with epic 3-shows-in-3-weekends-in-3 cities tour that also
served as the launch of his self-titled 2016 EP to his South African fans.
November 2016 also saw DJ Lag made his live global debut, starting at the
Unsound Festival in Poland and finishing up at Seoul’s Cake Shop nearly a
month later. The success of these first dates revealed an international appetitie
for DJ lag’s use of the sparsest production tools to create some of the most
evocative, soulful even, electronic music around.
“I believe gqom will be way bigger than deep house,” DJ Lag says of the genre
that he’s leading.
Following his set at the G-Star Raw x Boiler Room Sessions in Johannesburg in
2015, New York-based The Fader wrote: “DJ LAG stepped up to the decks to
show exactly why everyone’s going crazy for Gqom. The minimal house genre
born from the coastal city of Durban is dark, heated, and easy to lose yourself
in.” Felix a.k.a producer Moleskin, a co-founder of London label Goon Club
Allstars – which has released DJ Lag’s self-titled EP - told Dazed & Confused:
“When I first heard Gqom it felt like music that I’d been waiting to hear.”
“Gqom music makes you think of fun, nothing else but fun,” DJ Lag told The
Wire in January 2017. And the fun of Gqom is evident in the video for “Ice
Drop”, one of four tracks off DJ Lag’s acclaimed self-titled EP, issued in
November 2016 by Goon Club Allstars. The video features several stunning
overhead shots of DJ Lag’s local neighbourhoods in KwaDabeka and Clermont,
intercut with shots of the artist’s immediate environment – both providing a
glimpse into the context in which his hypnotic, infectious Gqom tunes are
created. The track has been an infectious calling card for DJ Lag, turning up on
Cadenza’s guest mix for Julie Adenuga’s Beats 1 Radio Carnival special in
August.
It’s a stunning rise for an artist just in his 20s. But, DJ Lag’s ready to put in the
work required for longevity in a hard business. As he told OkayAfrica in 2016,
“If you’re following your passion you don’t feel much pressure. I’m taking it
one step at a time to see where it’s actually heading. So far it’s going proper
and we’re just hoping for the best. We’re just working as a team with the rest
of the gqom guys—we’re just working as a unit. I don’t feel much
pressure—it’s not like I’m on top top top—I’m just on my way.”
