This week, the second 'A Class of its Own' recording session in Cape Town begins: a recording session that will also be a journey, to redefine what house music could be in this very moment. South Africa is a country that has made house music its heartland: a place where shrugging beats have been adopted as the pop culture of a young and vibrant nation. Kwaito vies with deep house in describing those new voices. The framework for this session will be 12 days, in an open format with a fully equipped studio decked with acoustic instruments as well as those of the electronic variety. There will be no boundaries to the creative process.

The protagonists come from various countries (France, USA, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark) – and have all done their part to infuse music with a new spirit – whether it was via producing Fela Kuti and working with Grace Jones (as in the case of Wally Badarou) or working together with Hugh Masekela to produce an award-winning dance album (as in the case of South African artist Black Coffee). Other former Academy participants or lecturers invited to take part include Stones Throw Latin-soul hip hop artist Aloe Blacc and NZ’s Fat Freddy’s session player and ex-Trinity Roots member Rio Hunuki-Hemopo.

Check back next week for a glimpse of what went down...