Afro EDM takes centre stage at Sonar Festival this year

What is Afro EDM?

It’s the throw-all term the guys in Europe like to use to describe some of our finest DJ/producers from South Africa as they take on the global circuit.

With Afro EDM, they won’t know what hit them.

Who can resist the soulfully hypnotic and authentic beats coming from the heart of Africa, taking dance floors across the globe by a storm not-yet seen, felt or heard?

Well Europe certainly isn’t resisting, in fact they are digging in and getting down to the African sounds that have dominated the EDM realm in South Africa for years, and it’s something to celebrate.

We have so much AMAZING music in South Africa and Africa, it’s so empowering to see the continent rise up and kick up dust on the world stage.

Black Coffee, Culoe De Song, and DJ Shimza all have residencies in Ibiza this European summer and now the genre will be taking centre stage at Sonar Festival in Barcelona this weekend.

Afro Euro takeover

Co-founder of Sonar Enric Palau shares his excitement:

“Some of these artists are coming to our festival where there is high technology everywhere but they bring their homemade technology which is sometimes rough but it’s so creative,” he tells the BBC.

Here are the Afro artists helming the Sonar stage this weekend, including a quote about how they feel about the genre:

Black Coffee: “We want to bring back power of the music to the people.”

Mr Eazi: “People will start categorising our music properly, the bigger it gets.”

Kampire: “Many Africans bristle at this title ‘world music’ because it’s in the past.”

Kokoko:”Nothing won’t stop us, we’ve had enough of the old music scene”

Distruction Boyz: “Our dream is to see people from India to New Zealand jamming to a song we made in our backroom.”

Afro EDM (see even we’re calling it that now 😊) is the celebration of freedom from oppression through music; making it raw and heart-hitting. BAM!