- London meets South Africa on his rhythmic gqom EP.
- London and South Africa meet again through DJ Lag. The Durban-based producer already released a 2016 EP on the UK capital's Goon Club Allstars label, an early dealer in gqom. The self-titled EP was a selection of raw and relentless rhythm tracks produced on Frooty Loops and distributed mostly via Soundcloud. It had a dark and growling motion that pared down the funky repetition of house to starker broken beats and groaning bass lines.
Stampit is even more severe. Stripping back the brooding intensity of past records, DJ Lag's third EP—there was another, Trip To New York, self-released last year via WhatsApp—is more dynamic but less dense. The unrelenting repetition is still there, heard in the insistent rhythms and rigid arrangements.
"3 Step Culo" presents a more layered palette, with vocal samples, nature sounds and a cycling two-note panpipe sequence and, while "Let's Do This" has the added flare of an actual synth melody. "Drumming" is nearly six minutes of groove, as a kick drum and hi-hat stagger along while being punctured by samples of a roaring crowd and a masculine grunt. There's a rising synth sweep in the background that blunts some of its frenetic edge, helping fulfil gqom's main objective: making you move.
TracklistA1 3 Step Culo
A2 Let's Do This
B1 Drumming
B2 Switz