Spoek Mathambo is the stage name of South African musician (Singer-Rapper-Producer-DJ), Nthato Mokgata. At the vanguard of a new wave of African artists, Spoek is hitting the world hard with his take on Afro-futurism. His unique take on electronic music, infuses futurism with a strong sense of pride in where he comes from. It is clearly African music, but like none that has ever been heard/made before.

In August 2010, Spoek Mathambo released his debut album Mshini Wam on BBE Records, which would begin to hint at the artist’s width of styles and influences. With Mshini Wam (as well as his HIVIP mix series), Spoek Mathambo coined the genre/style Township Tech, a way of describing his own as well as his contemporaries’ work in furthering the soundscape of South African house music. The Mshini Wam album garnered much critical and fan acclaim, which was partly due to the vibrant music videos that were released in support of the music. The video for ‘Control’ (a cover of Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control), which was produced in collaboration with Pieter Hugo and Michael Cleary, won a Young Director Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, a Gold Award at the Loeries (South Africa’s premier creative industry award) and has been featured at a number of film festivals across the world.

In 2011, Spoek Mathambo signed a multi-album deal with the legendary Seattle-based imprint, Sub Pop (Postal Service, The Shins, Nirvana, Beach House, Coco Rosie…) and has already completed work on his sophomore album, which he produced and recorded between the USA, South Africa and Sweden. The upcoming project promises to signal the maturing of Spoek Mathambo’s artistry, having undertaken more production duties on the project as well as having recorded with his live band. The release is set for the first quarter of 2012.