Teenage Dreams

In common parlance, the two producers who make up Native Soul would be considered ‘ma2000’ – or, born after the onset of democracy, having never experienced Apartheid – by virtue of their age. Kgothatso Tshabalala is 19 years old and Zakhele Mhlanga (DJ Zakes) is 18. Their 12-track debut electronic music album, ‘Teenage Dreams, is not easily dismissed as a project that shows their age, though. Teenage Dreams’ presents a youthful, experimental sound, but the arrangement of each song and how each of the project’s composite parts are put together demonstrate an artistic maturity beyond the two producers’ respective ages.