DNBSA is back: why we're relaunching

DNBSA started with a simple idea on 17 May 2008: nobody was covering South African drum n bass as a whole, so we would. What began as an attempt to organise a local tour and artist exchange became a blog, a Facebook page and a crew of writers and photographers who went to the parties and wrote them up.

Between 2011 and 2012 we reported from RAMfest the day Netsky played to a sunburnt Cape Town crowd, from Devastation's first birthday at Zula, and from the last Homegrown, the night that closed twelve years of first Saturdays at Mercury Live. We sat down with General Sound and asked the scene to vote for its favourite DJs, producers and nights.

Then things went quiet. The scene did not.

Why now

South African drum n bass has never been healthier. It Came From The Jungle is celebrating twenty years. Science Frikshun is still flying the flag in Joburg. Liquicity has made Cape Town a regular stop. A new generation of crews is building its own thing: As Above So Below, Open Signal, SIES, Liminil, Propaganda, The Konklave and plenty more, while local labels like Propaganda011, CHERCH Recordings and The Konklave Records put out homegrown music.

But the scene is scattered. Lineups live in Instagram stories that vanish after a day. Nights are announced in WhatsApp groups you only find if you already know someone. Two crews book the same Saturday without realising. Someone who got hooked on drum n bass last year has no easy way to find out who Counterstrike are, or what Homegrown meant, and the heads who were there have no easy way to find the new generation.

Our history is disappearing too. Flyers, mixes, photos and stories from the 90s and 2000s are sitting on old hard drives and dead websites. Once they're gone, they're gone.

That's why DNBSA is back: to be the one place that holds South African drum n bass together.

What we stand for

Strictly South African. Cape Town, Joburg, Pretoria, Durban, Gqeberha and everywhere the bass travels. If it's drum n bass and it's from here, it belongs here.

The whole scene, not one crew. Liquid to neuro, jungle to halftime, the festival stages and the sixty-person rooms. DNBSA isn't owned by a promoter and doesn't pick sides. Every crew gets the same shot at being seen.

Legends and newcomers side by side. The people who built this scene and the ones writing its next chapter deserve the same page. We want the veterans to discover the new names, and the new names to know whose shoulders they're standing on.

Credit where it's due. Artists own their profiles and can correct them at any time. Photographers get named. We only use photos we have permission to use.

Safe dancefloors. Drum n bass is for everyone. We have zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination, and we won't give a platform to anyone who makes our dancefloors unsafe.

Built with the scene, not for it. Anyone can suggest an artist, send an event or write for us. The site gets better every time someone adds to it.

Bringing the scene closer

We want to make it easier for the scene to find itself:

• One events guide for the whole country, so you can see what's on and promoters can see what's already booked. Coming up: Synergy x Yamatai on 2 and 3 October, WAREHOUSE SZN 004 on 10 October, As Above So Below's The Arrival on 27 November and Liquicity Cape Town in February.
• A directory of more than 100 South African DJs, producers and MCs, linked to their crews, labels and the venues they've played, so you can trace who plays with whom and find your next favourite selector.
• The archive, with every story from the original DNBSA blog back online, photos and all, and more history to come as the scene sends it in.
• More crossovers. When Propaganda took on As Above So Below at Carfax in August, Joburg and Cape Town shared one lineup. We want more of that: crews linking up across cities, and newcomers getting slots next to the names they grew up on.
• Coming soon: a forum where the scene can talk nights, production and gear, and DNBSA merch.

Get involved

This only works if the scene builds it with us.

• Artists: find your profile and check it's right. Send a photo, your links and your story. Not listed yet? Add yourself.
• Promoters: send us your events so they show up in the guide.
• Writers and photographers: we want reviews, interviews, scene reports and photos. Get in touch.
• The heads who were there: dig out the old flyers, mixes and photos. Help us write the history before it's lost.
• Everyone: share the site and tell us what we've missed.

Strictly South African drum n bass. Welcome back.