13.08.21
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Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

Today, we’re back with an exclusive playlist from gqom pioneer DJ Lag. The Durban-based producer has played an instrumental role in steering the raw, house-indebted and utterly hypnotic sound out from the city’s townships and underground scenes into the South African charts and beyond. In recent years, gqom has settled nicely into its new home on the global stage, with DJ Lag connecting with UK labels such as Goon Club Allstars and Hyperdub, plus Diplo’s imprint Good Enuff. He was also tapped by Beyoncé for production on Lion King: The Gift.

True to form, DJ Lag uses his Buy Music Club playlist to showcase South African artists such as Robin Thirdfloor and incendiary gqom trio Rudeboyz. He also includes tracks from international names and prior collaborators such as Sinjin Hawke, Diplo and Moses Boyd.

“I’m a believer in community – whether it’s Clermont, where I come from, or the artists that I collaborate with,” says DJ Lag on his playlist picks. “I chose these tracks with that in mind, as a way of connecting more broadly with the artists that I have worked with internationally and also showcasing the incredible South African talent making music in especially difficult times. The SA artists on this playlist are using Bandcamp as a platform for their music, which means that supporting them is meaningful and helps build our gqom family.”

DJ Lag plays at YAM Carnival on 28 August