Nozinja

Nozinja, born Richard Hlungwani, receives frequent recognition for originating and pushing forward Shangaan electro, the frenetic hybrid style of dance music. The South African talent scout, promoter, producer, musician, and DJ hails from Gyani in Limpopo yet operates out of Soweto. Musicologist Wills Glasspiegel arranged his link to Honest Jon's, the London label whose 2010 release Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music from South Africa helped circulate the style internationally. Mark Ainley of the label assembled that collection alongside Mark Ernestus—proprietor of Berlin's Hard Wax shop and member of Basic Channel—who listed Nozinja as the creator of its 180-BPM selections by Tshetsha Boys, Tiyiselani Vomaseve, and Zinja Hlungwani, his own daughter. Those tracks represented only a sliver of his larger body of work. In 2012 he issued Shangaan Shake, an album of reinterpretations by Ricardo Villalobos, Anthony "Shake" Shakir, and Actress. At the same time he directed dance clips posted on YouTube that clarified the corresponding moves for outside viewers. Warp later recruited him; his initial output on the imprint was the 2014 single "Tsekeleke." He performed overseas in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. The early 2015 track "Wa Chacha," issued jointly with British producer Tessela on Warp's Bleep subsidiary, preceded his debut album Nozinja Lodge, which reached stores via Warp in June 2015.