REVIEW

And Then There was Hydrogen

There’s a story that when Jesus Christ was proclaimed as the king of the Jews much of the resistance to His kingship did not come from lack of clout but because of where he came from. The scribes and Pharisees were vocal about nothing good going coming out of Bethlehem.

DJ Hydrogen, real name Thabiso Seoma who opts to be simply called Hydrogen is such story. However, coming from a village of Madjembeni did not stop this talented musician from recording his first house album titled The Acapellas which is a fusion of deep house with an innocent flirting with some elements of Pretoria funk – synonymous with Mjava and MaChance.

The Acapellas is a 15-track offering with intoxicating beats and a clever use of samples that makes this album a must-have for a devout house music disciple. The tracks that stood out include Bushbugridge Muscle, Everytime we Touch, Rainy Days, Behind the Walls, I Believe in Dreams and Mpumalanga Rise.

Behind the Walls’ strength comes from its sampling of Tracy Chapman’s song of the same title. While the mixing leaves a lot to be desired if compared with other releases out there, very much DJ Oskido’s Revolution, it however is a clever attempt, which sounds hollow for a new deejay.

The track that should get you listening without tapping your feet should undoubtedly be I Believe in Dreams which contains a quarter of Dr Martin Luther King’s I have a Dream speech. It sounds topical in this time of Barack Obama and slinging matches between Helen Zille and Julius Malema.

Overall this is a well-produced album which should bring Mpumalanga its second house music SAMA next year. More with addictive jams like The Deeper I go, Welcome to Bush, Club Designer and Attention.

Hydrogen says he is just waiting for a deal to put his album to the mass market. “My inspiration comes from the Soul Candy crew of Euphonik and Fresh. I just don’t understand why they would import music from overseas when these shores have excellent musicians”, he says. Probably Jesus wouldn’t have been great if He was born in the city of Jerusalem.