Music
DJ LAG on The Global Rise of Gqom
The GqomKing bestows UK with the highest honour
DJ LAG is a few cities into Part 2 of his #GqomIsThePresent tour which includes Asian, African and European cities; the first time in some cities, but no stranger to Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul. Vastly different to his last 4-hour visit to Beijing in October of 2016, this time he got to taste Beijing’s famous Peking Duck and take in some of the sights, smells, sounds and energy of the bustling Asian mega-city ahead of his gig at Dada Beijing later that evening.
Besides his FOMO-inducing Instagram stories posted from Seoul, the night before, it’s evident that he had a great time. I meet a tired but relaxed DJ LAG in the lobby of the Grand Mercure hotel in Doncheng -Beijing’s cultural and political center; there’s an aura of calm around him, which made talking to him easy.
I speak to DJ LAG about the tour so far and the rise of Gqom since 2016.
Welcome back to Beijing, anything in particular you recall or anticipate will be different to your last visit here?
Yo, I think I came here around 2am last time, so we went straight from the airport to the club, I played and then left the next morning.
So you didn’t get to see anything or taste any good local food?
Nothing...
If you had to compare the cities you’ve just played during Part 2 of your #GqomIsThePresent tour, how would you say people respond to Gqom and what stands out most about them?
It depends on the crowd and the type of music they are used to hearing. In Russia it was their first time hearing Gqom, so everybody went crazy, everybody was like, "what's this?". There were two stages, people left the other stage and came to my stage. Yeah, the response was really crazy, I was surprised to see that kind of support for their first time hearing Gqom.
DJ LAG
© Santiago Borthwick
Gqom is slowly starting to creep into sets in some of China’s underground clubs but is still largely undiscovered. How have you experienced audiences here in China particularly?
The first time I came to Beijing in 2016, yoh! Everyone went crazy, it's like they were waiting for me, you know. When we arrived at the club the crowd went crazy and was like "ahhh they're here ..." When I started playing people were glued to the DJ booth, dancing and having a good time. So Gqom is really growing this side - and I'm really happy to see that.
Is it completely different to play for a crowd at home compared to an international crowd?
I don't know how to explain this but a South African crowd is always dancing, but here they could stand and stare at you with so much focus 'cause they want to see what you're doing, which buttons I'm pushing... that's what I like about the international crowds. In South Africa they don't care, if there's music it's all good.
And how does it feel to be at the forefront of taking this authentic and uniquely South African sound to stages all over the world? Is this what you intended?
No, no. It just happened. I wasn't expecting this, because I was just making music for my friends and then it grew popular in Durban, then outside of Durban. To be serious, I wasn't expecting this.
So what is that like? What are the feelings attached to this crazy experience?
I'm really proud of myself and yeah, the feeling is really amazing for me, you know. Now I am travelling the world with something that I was just doing in my bedroom studio, just playing around...
DJ LAG
© Santiago Borthwick
You've played on all 7 continents by now right?
Ja.
So out of the seven continents which one would you say has been the best experience?
UK
The UK, how come?
I think they're the first continent to discover Gqom outside of South Africa. Because I was getting emails from some people (in the UK) when I was still in high school. They were trying to book me but I couldn't travel at the time. They wanted to release an EP when I was still in high school. So when I finished matric, I dropped my first EP and started travelling. Every time I go to London, the crowd is amazing. The best parties I've had have always been in London.
When you started making music, what was your family's response - were they encouraging you?
They didn't like the idea, because when I got into making music I started losing focus on my school work, I was always on my laptop making music and always making a noise, so they didn't like it. But when I started travelling they were like "oh, okay…. " They really support me now because I'm the only one that works at home.
What's the most memorable thing so far on this journey?
When I was in New York, I was invited to a party with Pharell, Jaden Smith and a few other celebrities. At 4pm only celebs were allowed to enter the shop and I was in there with all of them. Felt cool to be part of that kind of vibe.
If you were to describe what Gqom is to someone who has never heard it before, in the simplest way, how would you describe it?
Gqom is more like a mixture of different genres. If you listen to it, there's a little bit of hip-hop, house and some traditional samples we take from Maskandi. It's made up of broken beats and we use a lot of synthesizers and hardcore bass.
DJ LAG is one of 80 artists performing at Red Bull Music Festival Johannesburg from 3 - 8 April. Get your tickets here.
This interview has been shortened and edited for clarity
