Tshe-Tsha Boys, Shangaan Electro, and clowns.

At some point this summer, when I was falling asleep at the control board in my post-lunch stupor, something pretty awesome snuck into our rotation bin. Since then, over the past 2-3 months, WXYC DJs have been sharing little nuggets off of it on a daily basis. Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa is yet another quirky compilation added to the thousands in the XYC library, and one of many beauties from our summer playlist. But, this CD sticks out for me. And part of it has to do with my fear of clowns. Firstly though, Shangaan Electro has warped my appetite for mbira. If Dumisani Maraire had recorded on a strict diet of eight-balls and nodoz he wouldn't even come close to the bpms Shangaan brings to the mbira. Fast mbira is pretty hot. Additionally, there are some pretty disturbingly soothing vocal antics to observe. Tiyiselani Vomaseve has a song called "Vanghoma", which I think translates to Awkward Bellows from Surly Gruff Old Dudes Induce Cardiac Arrhythmias in Innocent Schoolgirls. But more importantly, the cover of this compilation gives us a hint of what Shangaan Electro is all about...



Clearly, this music is about dancing obese clowns, old and young, doing some really obscene shit in public. If you have a clown phobia like I do, I'd recommend leaving now. The Tshe-Tsha Boys have two tracks on Shangaan Electro, but one track by them that is missing from the compilation explains everything you ever needed to know about Shangaan Electro in video. Now go buy it already.