In less than a decade, DJ Lag—the alias of Lwazi Asanda Gwalahas—has established himself as a sonic innovator and leading ambassador of gqom, taking the bass-heavy, minimalist sound from South Africa to a worldwide audience. (Its name stems from a Zulu word meaning drum or hit and Hyperdub label head Kode9 described it as “like being suspended over the gravitational field of a black hole, and lovin’ it.) He’s achieved all this before the age of 30 and from his home in Clermont in the coastal city of Durban, which is where he began making beats using little more than FruityLoops as a teenager. Soon he was playing his tracks at local gigs and sharing them with taxi drivers who liked to use them to attract customers. Then, in 2015, following his blistering performance at the G-Star Raw x Boiler Room sessions in Johannesburg, his sound seeped out to an international audience, and a year later he released on London’s Goon Club Allstars—delivering four hypnotic originals “made for clubs … made for nightlife,” he told DJ Mag. He released his debut album, Meeting With The King, in 2022, and following that he’s recently embarked on his Alpha-Zulu tour, which will take him to every continent this year. (Alongside the shows, he’ll be collaborating and recording with local artists to drop tracks monthly.)

In support of the tour, which is currently in South Africa, we’re delivering DJ Lag’s much-anticipated XLR8R podcast, which as you’d expect is dark, heated, and raw. Expect an hour of bubbling club rhythms, chopped vocals and powerful drums.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been making new music mainly and playing some really great shows. I just launched the Alpha-Zulu tour which will be a world tour combined with recordings along the way. I started in India and there are two great tracks coming up with some amazing local producers and rappers. More on this very soon we are mixing next week!

02. What have you been listening to?
I’ve been listening to amapiano, gqom, and hip-hop. It is a great time for South African music!

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded the mix in my home studio in Durban. I had just returned from India where I had two amazing weeks of music. I felt very inspired.

04. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
I have included mostly new music. There is a new style of gqom that’s been made in Durban right now.

05. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
My live show is very different because there is so much going on when I play. I mix samples, effects, and vocals into instrumentals. This is more of a selection of great tracks.

06. What can we expect?
Hard gqom!

07. What’s next on your horizon?
Travel the world and make music with artists from everywhere. I will be releasing the songs along the way so stay in touch for this. I also want to start releasing some new artists through my label. Ice Drop, I have been wanting to do this for a while but there hasn’t been enough time!

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. DJ Lag “Destiny” (Black Major / Ice Drop)
02. Deep Narratives “Hard Cong” (Maluka Records)
03. Dladla Mshunqisi “Woza Uzizwele” (Afrotrainment)
04. Omagoqa “Njengenja” (Other Side Recordings)
05. Babes Wodumo “No No” fear. Que DJ, Skillz & Zuri (West Ink Records)
06. DJ Lag “Intongayazi” (Black Major / Ice Drop)
07. DJ Lag “Lucifer” (Black Major / Ice Drop)
08. DJ Lag “Khehla” (Black Major / Ice Drop)