Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

So in Cape Town (as well as most of the world), minibus taxis are the way people get around. For the uninitiated, the minibusses must seem like a terrifying proposition – you cram into a tiny bus with 20 other people, or so. Just you, passengers who invariably have too many bags, the fare collector, and the crazy driver. Parts of the van are invariably broken, just hope it isn’t the window. Seatbelts? Forget it. AC? You wish. Pounding kwaito music and death-defying speeds? Oh yes. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to catch a talk about politics in english, so you can even pick up a little bit of local culture.

But anyway. Apparently the really colorfully decorated cabs with the really loud subwoofers are connected to sound systems. “No kidding,” you might say, “That’s how you play music.” No, no, my friend. I mean a sound system, with DJs and whatnot. Oh yes. And they have the craziest music – heavy bass, spacey drums, blaring synths, and amazing zulu hooks. Apparently they organize drag races/raves every once in a while.

While I don’t have the stones to track down a taxibus rave, I do have the stones to try and swap music with the drivers. The plan: make mixtapes, hand them to the driver, and convince them to hand me over their cd. The mix I put together is all heavy bass, some club rhythms, etc. Stuff that is similar to their cds in idea but totally different in execution. In other words, some hectic driving music. And now I present to you…

Ezra Mechaber – Traffic Jams [mp3 download]

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Tracklist:

1. The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa [French Fries remix]
2. Major Lazer – Pon De Floor
3. French Fries – Saurus Rhythm
4. Them Jeans – Flying Rats
5. Tonka – Ready For War
6. AC Slater – Jack Got Jacked [Jack Beats remix]
7. Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi [Kingdom remix]
8. Young Punx – Juice And Gin
9. Designer Drugs – Back Up In This [B. Rich remix]
10. Jack Beats – Get Down [VIP edit]
11. Math Head – Turn The Music Up [AC Slater remix]
12. Emalkay – When I Look At You
13. Damien Marley – So It Was Written [Chasing Shadows remix]
14. Basement Jaxx – Feeling’s Gone [Rusko remix]

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