During this time of year, I’m usually back with my family in South Africa for the summer. Inspired by the new African sounds I’ve been listening to, I wanted to create a mix celebrating the subculture of hardcore gqom – sometimes referred to as quantum or taxi gqom.

I took a huge interest in this during the latter half of 2024 as I set out to discover more about the young producers from Durban shaping the sound. “These kids are 14 to 20 years old making these tapes,” someone told me on TikTok.

It pulses through taxis and phone speakers, made by the youth in the townships of Durban. I loved the rawness of the music, hypnotic basslines, coming from kids working with what they can, making a few tapes a year for the holiday break parties.

This mini mix is the result of my findings, mixed entirely on the SP-404. I played an extended version of this mix when I opened for DJ TRAVELLA – icon. Thank you, @e.t.no.home and @hifi_scifi, for providing me the space to do so.

Extremely proud of this – please enjoy!