DRUMS Radio- It’s about the music

BY DAVE RANKIN

It doesn’t matter what part of the world you come from, everyone responds to the rhythmic patterning and steady beat of a drum. Music is coordinated sound. The coordination of patterns when a drum is played involves elements of the unexpected.

The repetitive, hypnotic sound of the drum actually seems to anchor our minds in the present moment faster. It is why drums were used during spiritual rituals and are still used to this day by many cultures. The human brain is amazingly sensitive to timing information. We have an innate ability to make sense of music, but it all depends on our experience.

When a drumbeat is played, there is a strong sense of structure, form and community developed. As your body moves to the steady beat, the brain attends to the repetitive nature of pulse interacting with rhythmic patterns, and this seems to bring the brain and system to attention.

It is no wonder that Afro House (a subgenre of House music) has now gained a small underground following around the world, and in its birthplace of South Africa, the music and culture is intensely popular. There you can find it on mainstream radio playing some of the best artists coming out of South Africa. Names like: Brian Temba, C-Major, DJ Fresh, Wanda Baloyi, Echo Deep, Sir LSG, Jullian Gomes, Octopuz, Dj Afrozilla, Jackie Queens, Black Motion, and a most notable talent, the one and only Black Coffee.

Africa is the birthplace of mankind and music, and this is reflected in the music and culture that comes out of the continent. Afro House has grown and developed, as South Africa has grown and developed. In 1994, the country transitioned from Apartheid laws to majority rule when the African National Congress Party came to power. When there is a major change in politics, there are shifts that occur throughout the country, and one major shift that did occur was the newfound freedom, and an uprising of musical talent and open expression.

Afro House is a fusion of Kwaito, Tribal, Deep and Soul House music. Like all genres and sub-genres, it is split into different musical camps: one is more of an original African tribal sound (popular tribal-house, Afro-beats), and the other combines a fusion of North American Soulful house, with an African feel, characterized by a vocal-led, more refined style.

This style of music made it’s way to the UK, and it’s not just the Afro Beats fan base that is growing rapidly in the UK, but the interest from British and American Urban music acts as well. It has provided an injection of new energy into the UK party scene, and there is now a radio station that offers the very best in Afro House Music from all over the world.

DRUMS Radio: Deep, Tribal, Raw & Unfiltered Afro House music (https://www.drumsradio.com/) . Officially born in 2018 (started broadcasting in 2017), the station has attracted attention globally, and in just two years has attracted 5,089 followers on Instagram, 1,818 followers on Twitter, and well-known Afro House artists and DJ’s from around the world.

I had a chance to speak to one of the founders of DRUMS Radio. She goes by Dams, and during our short dialogue session, I learned about how she got together with UK’s Mr. Silk (Co-founder of DRUMS Radio), and how the station has managed to garner so much attention.

“I wasn’t into radio. I fell into radio,” Dams began. “I came in to help out at Bang Radio. It wasn’t something I had any real interest in. What I discovered is once you get into radio, you never want to leave.” I laughed because it was true. I couldn’t agree with her more.

“I was there to crisis manage, but I had been in the music industry before, so it felt comfortable. I ended up working in a training capacity, and I had strong communication skills. I began working with young people who wanted to get into radio.

Once I stopped being a station manager, my sister started a show, and I came on as her producer. At that time, Bang Radio was the only legal station playing African House Music. Mr. Silk had joined the station as well, and one Christmas we asked ourselves, why can’t we hear this music more than once a week.

There was no real place to go and listen to Afro House in South Africa. WE loved the music and wanted people to love it too.”

And love it they did. People who said they didn’t like house, heard Afro House and were like, “We like this! What was this sound? We told them that it was house.”

Like anything else, introducing DRUMS radio, and building the station had its challenges.

“We were considered outsiders trying to deliver something that didn’t belong to us,” Dams told me. “We were viewed as interlopers. They would ask questions like, how can they have African house events, and not have African DJ’s?”

I always thought of myself as African, even though both my parents are Caribbean. This music is great music; we just want to push it. We don’t say that we own it, but it is something that we love.”

DRUMS Radio has successfully done a lot of firsts, which is difficult, especially being outside of Africa. To hear Afro House, you would have to go to a club. They were the first to bring the music right to people in their homes. There was no community for them yet, but DRUMS have had their hand in establishing one.

“Our first event, we had two people show up,” Dams chuckles. “It was expected. We were outsiders. We just kept doing it, and slowly it began to happen.

It is not just about coming to a club and getting high, it is about that spiritual feeling.

We wanted people to know more, who the artists are, who made it, what the genre was really about.

We were a bit blinded by COVID-19, but as the music grows, the station grows. Afro House is Global. It is about building the brand. It is about building the events. It is about introducing people to the music. It is an artist driven music. There is a space for us as artists. This is amazing.

People need to see this thing for what it is. It is about the music.”