Bubblegum Club

Tag: Micr.Pluto

  • Umaah’s Sheila EP is Vulnerable and Experimental

    Umaah’s Sheila EP is Vulnerable and Experimental

    Before the current wave of soulful songstresses from Durban who blend R&B with hip-hop and jazz, like Red Robyn, Victoria Raw, and Rhea Black, I used to be enchanted on the weekends by Umaah Khumalo, or as she was affectionately known then, Apple. Umaah mostly used to kick it with Ex-Con (Existing Consciousness), a high energy free-flowing new age act that would blend hip-hop with jazz, rock, soul, R&B and whatever else tickled their fancy. Even though she was the smallest member, she never came across as such on stage.

    Umaah has always felt bigger than her surroundings. Like she couldn’t be contained, although, for a while in Durban, she was a bit. I’ve had a few conversations with her over the years. About the struggles of being a young musician, of balancing work with being in a band. About whether or not that band would make it. It didn’t. But that doesn’t mean Umaah won’t. Her debut solo EP as Umaah is a massive step in a direction that could see some success for her.

    Produced by Jozi’s experimental electronic music genius, Micr.Pluto, Umaah is given plenty of space to shine on the Sheila EP over sounds I’m not used to hearing her on. No acoustic guitar or big band behind her. Instead Umaah gets to pair her voice with some good-old fashioned boombap (with Micr.Pluto’s modern touches, of course), trip-hop, and even a few dubsteb wubs.

    The opening track, ‘Baptist‘, is my favourite. The beat kinda reminds me of Nas’s ‘Represent’ and coupled with Umaah’s soulful vocals, it takes me back to the 90s, driving around in my mom’s Uno Fire whilst she’d play R&B compilations with the likes of Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill on them. There’s a good chance Umaah grew up on Erykah, as she’s the artist I can most liken her to. She’s experimental with her vocals, although she keeps things relatable with an ever-present layer of vulnerability.

  • SubWav’s Wiretribe compilation showcases Joburg’s electronica

    SubWav’s Wiretribe compilation showcases Joburg’s electronica

    ‘Wiretribe’ is Joburg-based leftfield electronica label Subterranean Wavelength’s (SubWav) debut label compilation. Featuring exclusive unreleased contributions from the label’s roster, the compilation is an introduction to the artists and their unique sounds, and captures the colourful variety of electronica emerging from the Joburg scene at the moment.

    Founded by Micr.Pluto, Edward Kgosidintsi and Tribal Rebul Ludi, Subterranean Wavelength initially wasn’t meant to be a label, but organically grew into one from the compilation series of the same name, the first volume of which dropped in 2014. Featuring Hlasko, Watermark High, Obligations & Hawkword, it was a showcase of Joburg’s beat scene in its infancy, part of the reason for starting the compilation. A desire to release music beyond compilations resulted in the formation of the label in 2016.

    Whereas the ‘Subterranean Wavelength’ series of compilations was a showcase of the beat scene in general, ‘Wiretribe’ focuses on the SubWav roster. “Everyone on ‘Wiretribe’ are people who we are actively working with on the label. Who are signed to the label, either with our bookings or as artists,” explains Micr.Pluto. As such, ‘Wiretribe’ is a showcase of what the SubWav family has to offer. “We have a bit of everything because we’ve got rappers, vocalists, beat makers, producers. I’d say most the vocalists we work with are on the super experimental tip. Our beat makers are on that tip. I don’t think we have an artist that has a mundane output with their music, everyone is actively pushing boundaries in their sound, trying out new shit, experimenting all the time,” Micr.Pluto continues.

    While SubWav’s artists cover a range of styles, the fact that they all hail from the same label is evidence of how well the compilation flows. From the bouncy opening track ‘Glitch Memories’ by Daev Martian x Tribal Rebel Ludi to the dubby ‘Listen’ by Eye – On Feather x Nandi Ndlovu, the beats of Micr.Pluto and Kajama’s soulful experimentations, there is an underlying laid-back vibe to the Subterranean Wavelength.

    Outside of the releases the label also hosts its SubWav Live which focuses on the live aspect of the beat scene. “The concept is to uplift that in Joburg and place an emphasis on that specifically. We also make sure we have live sets and DJs around that to keep the party vibrant,” says Micr.Pluto.

    Apart from ‘Wiretribe’, Subterranean Wavelength is looking to release a number of projects including a solo project from Kajama’s ‘Nongoma’ (a project from Eye-On Feather) as well as a new project from Micr.Pluto, alongside a newly signed vocalist.

    While the growth of the label is an indication of the growth of leftfield electronica locally, Micr.Pluto believes there are positive and negative aspects to this growth. “I’ve actually seen crowds swell and get really huge for the beat scene type movement. But I also feel like it’s kind of evolved into something different in a sense. It ended up merging with everything and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of the beat stuff. In a sense I feel like it hasn’t grown to have its own crowd, it’s own market. It’s still got a long way to go to where people can host parties or throw events that are purely based on leftfield electronica or experimental beats, there’s always gotta be something thrown in there to make it accessible, but [we’re] getting there.”