JFH News: Soweto Gospel Choir and Groove Terminator Announce "History of House, Vol. 1" EP out May 3rd

Soweto Gospel Choir and Groove Terminator Announce History of House, Vol. 1 EP out May 3rd

Listen to “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good),” new single out today via Music is Fun / House of Latroit / Gallo Records

Recorded entirely in Zulu, project spotlights dance music’s roots in Africa

NEWS SOURCE: Shore Fire Media
March 8, 2024

The South Africa-based, 3x GRAMMY-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, and Australia’s first “Superstar DJ,” the electronic artist Groove Terminator, will release their first joint EP - History of House, Vol. 1 - on May 3rd, 2024 via Music is Fun (a division of Seeker Music), House of Latroit, and Gallo Records.

Dreamt up back in 2019, the project began as a live show series featuring the Choir and Groove Terminator performing dance music covers that showcased the evolution and “History of House” from the 70s through now. When the pandemic put live shows on pause, the concept took on a recorded element and ultimately grew into a multi-pronged collaboration intended to honor the Black history of the genre, and bring opportunity to artists and creators across Africa.

Today, the Choir and Groove Terminator are out with their newest single from the forthcoming project, “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good).” Listen HERE, and check out a GRAMMY Global Spin live performance of the song (a cover of Zimbabwean artist Rozalla’s 1991 dance anthem) HERE.

When Groove Terminator (Simon Lewicki) first conceptualized History of House, his appreciation for the roots of dance music within Africa pointed him in the direction of The Soweto Gospel Choir. As the 17-member Choir put their own spin on the House staples, the decision was made to record entirely in Zulu, and to incorporate more elements of South African culture in both the musical and visual aspects of the project (“Everybody’s Free” artwork below, as example). And to ensure the recordings kept that classic House vibe, GRAMMY-winning producer and dance music veteran Dennis White, aka Latroit, was brought onto the project.

History of House, Vol. 1’s first single, “Good Life” (originally written and recorded by Kevin Saunderson’s seminal Detroit Techno group Inner City in 1988, when Latroit was the group's music director), was released last year to raves from the likes of KCRW and BBC Radio.

Listen to “Good Life” HERE, and check out remixes of the song commissioned by a program created by Latroit, Mbongasani Dube (the leader of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce Youth Commission), and Ivan Turanjanin (the visionary behind the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival) called African Orna HERE.

Started specifically to create opportunities, discover, and promote emerging artists from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, African Orna ran a contest for regional musicians and producers to remix “Good Life,” and plans to do so for all of the project’s singles to come (including “Everybody’s Free”).

The History of House, Vol. 1 EP is comprised of predominantly live musical performances - a rarity for the genre. Check out the track listing below, and stay tuned for more information to come from History of House, Vol. 1.

History of House, Vol.1 EP Tracklist

Good Life

Everybody’s Free

Troubled

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