LR Groove: the South African Impact on UK Bass
London-based DJ, Producer and Renk Groove Recordings label Boss LR Groove is a veteran of UK and South African bass culture. Since the early 90s, he’s brought a hypnotic Funky Tribal Bass blend to London dancefloors: mixing everything from South African Gqom and Amapiano House to UK Funky, Jungle, Garage, Grime, Soca and Afrobeat. He’s collabed with SA royalty like DJ Lag, and Toya Delazy, and works closely with top UK dons who’ve been equally influenced by the SA sound, like Razzler Man (his label co-owner, DJ partner in crime and one half of Tribal Brothers), Scratcha DVA, Jamz Supernova, Marcus Nasty, DJ Polo and Roska. We caught up to learn more about LR Groove’s intercultural influences, and why he thinks the cultures are a match made in musical heaven!
But before we jump into the interview, let’s rewind a minute. How did I come into contact with LR Groove? Well, a few weeks back I was chilling on the grass in Hackney with my ladies. One of the best things about our crew is the fact we always blast out the bangers, no matter where we’re at!
My friend Toya, (AKA Toya Delazy, who just so happens to be a legendary Zulu MC, singer, dancer and fashion icon, and a household name in South Africa!) drew for one of her tunes. Instantly my ears pricked up when I heard it - she was rapping in Zulu and it was cut over this mad dark, rhythmic Gqom beat. I cried out, “who made this tune”!? And Toya replied, “oh yeah this is me and LR Groove, he's one of the UK Funky Gqom dons”. I was instantly intrigued.
Toya Delazy in South Africa. Photographer and editing by Courtney Rabbit for Unlabelled magazine
Toya and I had already done a Rave Report together in 2019 on Gqom, and since then I’ve been massively aware of its global impact on rave culture as we know it.
Gqom is the original sound of the Durban Townships: often produced on bootleg software, then circulated via Whatsapp and in the sound systems of local cabs.
And Gqom’s hard hitting snares and gritty dark, tribal beats have taken the world by storm. Both on a commercial level, with artists like Beyonce collaborating with the Durban Gqom King himself, DJ Lag (who’s also torn up Berghain!). But on a UK underground tip too, with heavy adoption from heads like LR Groove, with a background in Garage, Jungle and Funky.
Documentary on Durban Gqom culture by Gqom Oh! and Crudo Volta
So why has South Africa had such an impact on uk bass? Maybe it’s because of the internet - or maybe because there’s cultural parallels that go so much deeper than that.
Is it through the raw tempos and the darkness coming from Drum and Bass or Jungle? Does it draw similarities with Grime- the UK sound of the streets produced on DIY software? Or is it African diaspora music plain and simple: united by a shared experience across the globe? Let’s jump in with LR Groove to find out what he thinks!
Hey LR Groove! How would you describe your musical evolution in a nutshell?
Hey! Well I’ve been in the London Jungle scene since the late ‘90s, but it wasn’t until 2009 when I properly started to make waves - around the time UK Funky was really big. Then I started a family in 2012, before getting hungry again in 2015-16!
Around that time, there were some new boys on the scene like DJ Polo, Murder He Wrote, High Class Filter who were keeping up the UK Funky sound that was big around 2009, but putting a new spin on it as well. When I was hearing this sort of stuff, it reignited a flame inside of me, you know?
“now my sound has evolved into a connection with the South African style. Especially inspired by Gqom and Amapiano House”.
I’ve definitely got more percussion and twists and turns in my productions these days!
Tribal Brothers: LR groove (left) and Razzler Man (right)
There does seem to be a strong link between UK bass artists and the South African sounds of today! When did you first connect with Gqom?
Yeah, it’s still got that vibe! That swing! Especially with the Gqom side of things. It’s got a similar rawness to the old UK funky, which I absolutely love.
The first time I actually understood Gqom was at a Gqom Oh! rave just up the road from me in Tottenham. The sound system in that venue did it some justice! Me and my DJ partner Razzler Man were there, and we just looked at each other like, wow. After that we ran with it.
“We made a few connections with South African artists - we just want to show some appreciation to them!”
In your experience, why do you think there’s such a strong connection between London and South African bass music?
For me it's the rawness of it - the tempo plays a massive part.
“Maybe I get it because I come from a jungle dnb background”.
I used to mix D&B, Jungle and Hardcore and all that back in the day - I've always had that high energy aspect!
That's true you know. And UK bass is all Diaspora music so it's no wonder there is a close connection really.
Exactly. When I came across Gqom it was the rawness of the kick, the snare patterns and the gritty bass. So when I first came across it, I was like yo, this is similar to Funky.
But Gqom is darker. From what I've seen and researched, the guys that are making it are in a less fortunate place.
“In a similar vein to UK Grime, the sound can reflect how you interpret your surroundings”.
So true. I love Gqom’s DIY element - for example the way it’s been made on the free production software Fruity loops.
Yeah - and there’s me stressing myself out about expensive equipment. I’ve seen some documentaries and they are there doing their thing regardless, just making some sick flippin beats!
You know?! It’s a very different context but there’s definitely similarities in the bass culture.
No matter where you are in the world, if you're in that sort of environment, you're more likely to understand what's going on.
I’d love to hear a little bit more about some of the collabs you've done. Let’s start with the Zulu queen herself, Toya Delazy! How did that come about?
Jamz Supernova hit me up, and asked me for a batch of demos for her producers release series. I sent her a remix of one of my 2011 releases, and she came back to me and asked if I was up for working with vocals. So she put Toya in touch with me who sent me her vocals.
Initially it wasn’t sitting right for me - it wasn’t how I’d heard the song. It was totally different. So I hit her up and she explained what she's singing about: basically ‘serving the sauce’, like bringing the flavour! After I understood that, we had an amazing vibe and energy. And then I just got to work. Just came with the finished product!
It’s a banger trust me! And it inspired some dance competitions as well, right?
Yes! We were trying to get that popping. Trying to get a few people around the world involved.
Well, dance is such a huge part of Gqom culture! Have you done other colabs with people in South Africa, or is it more kind of something that's UK based and then inspired by the sounds?
More UK bass and inspired by the sounds. But we don't want to just take their sound and just run with it.
“We try to reach out to south african producers, do mixes, get them on our radio shows, do guest mixes and give back”.
Me and Razzler Man have got a label called Renk Groove Recordings, and we released a South African producer a few months back. His name's called Real Nox. The tune’s called Unda Yeke.
Love to hear it! Can we hear about some of your new releases you've got coming out. I know you’re releasing with Livity Sound, known for more left field producers like Forest Drive West and Peverelist!?
Yeah so that's coming out in April, with my partner in crime Razzler Man and Bristol’s very own DJ Polo. I’m excited about that on a personal thing - it’s my first ever vinyl release!
What can we look for from you in the future?
I've got my EP coming out on May 28st. That's called The Roller EP. Five tracks on there, still with the elements of Gqom, UK funky, Amapiano. I'm excited about this release.
And then me and Razzler Man - Tribal Brothers - we’ve got another EP. Yeah, we got a few riddims coming.
Then me and my bro are playing at Fabric on 16th July for Scratcha DVA’s Friendly Fires clash alongside D Double E, Novelist and more. come catch us there!
Hell yes me and the crew have already got our tickets!
Click here for tickets