The initial encounter with Bubblegum, not the type you chew, but the music of the same name, which originated in South Africa in the ’80s, can be somewhat confusing. At first you think you’re listening to synthpop, only the vocals are unusual, starting with the fact that the lyrics probably seem incomprehensible from our view. But that’s not all: this kind of boogie, which originated in the wake of disco and funk, as presented by the E & S Brothers in ’85 on their debut album »Taduma«, is fully electronic and simultaneously extremely sparsely produced, including sparingly used drum computers. They have little of the straightforwardness that was prevalent in Europe at the time, but use almost irritatingly stoic syncopations in their repetitive rhythms. With this skeletonised synthesiser sound, the brothers Ernest and Shadrack Ndlovu, their real names, commend themselves in the early phase of Bubblegum that already displayed the decisive style elements. In »Be Careful«, however, they don’t just switch to English, but also fall back on a pulsating disco bass with a snappy beat. Similarly, »Taxi Door« was heavily publicised at taxi stands at the time thanks to its line »Don’t bang the taxi door«. Even without support from the taxi ranks, it remains a delightfully brittle dance anthem, which, like the rest of the record, urgently needs to be rediscovered.
Taduma
