South African producer and 3Step pioneer Thakzin presents COMMON GROUND, his forthcoming eight-track album on Sondela Recordings, with the release of the lead single, ‘Maphorisa‘. Featuring Mpho.WAV, Atmos Blaq, Tete, Ozana, Kisto, Moonchild Sanelly, Baby S.O.N, Suffocate SA and Citizen Deep, ‘Maphorisa’ is the most expansive collaboration to feature on Thakzin‘s discography to date.
Recorded during the God‘s Window Pt. 1 sessions, ‘Maphorisa‘ blends a diverse array of influences from 3Step, Afro House, Afro Tech and beyond across the African electronic music landscape, finding ways to bring together different aesthetics and sounds rather than trying to find a blend of everything into a singular mould.
Inspired by the feeling of being able to come together, to make and play music in a way that reflects the spontaneous nature of the gathering, ‘Maphorisa’ seeks to capture the spirit of the meeting and the energy of the contributions that each artist brings to the track. Each voice adds something new to the record, creating a sense of a collaborative work that finds value in the variety of the contributions.
Across COMMON GROUND, an eight-track project that looks at the connections between music, culture and humanity, Thakzin examines ways in which different influences can co-exist and work together, and how a shared vision doesn’t need to mean a loss of individual expression.
The music finds freedom in the potential of unfiltered communication, making music intuitively, sharing ideas and finding common ground. It is an album built on a love of the feeling of coming together, of reaching out and sharing sounds from different corners of the world.
‘Maphorisa’, then, is an example of many contributors finding a space where they can contribute, making music that reflects the mixture of approaches and the blending of sounds that can emerge when a community of artists get together with a shared vision.
‘Maphorisa‘ is out Friday, 23 October 2026, on Sondela Recordings.
Thakzin‘s forthcoming album COMMON GROUND is due 13 November 2026.
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