3 step Essentials

Produced by TAU (BW), this sample pack has all the 3-step essentials to build, build, build, then let it all go. Growing up to the sounds of Kwaito and Tribal House, TAU's love for house music and African rhythms came from his earliest exposure to the local music played in his home village. Since 2020, he has released several singles and EPs on labels like Get Physical Music, Afro House label Moblak Records, and Mahaba Records, a subsidiary of Defected Records. His song, "People of Shaam" sat at the top of Traxsource charts for six weeks. His EP, "Abafazi", made in collaboration with Thandi Draai and DA Africa Deep, is a tribute to women's struggle in Apartheid South Africa. He's also known for his official remixes of iconic songs like the hit "Vuli Ndlela" by the late Brenda Fassie, and the legendary Mango Groove's record Home Talk.

Pioneered by Thakzin, an artist born in the Ivory Park township, 3-step is a dance music movement that emerged during the 2020 lockdowns in South Africa, and has since swept the global electronic music landscape. Experimenting with Amapiano, Afro House, Afrobeats, Highlife, and more, Thakzin did away with any preconception of what production should sound like and rebuilt his signature sound with a new, singular focus: to create tension and release. Named for its three-kick-drum framework, 3-step is characterized by the jazzy horns of Highlife; Amapiano's weightless bass, log drums, ad-libs, and shakers; the kick grooves of Afro Tech; and, crucially, marching handclaps and light-footed percussion, harking back to the playfulness of London's broken beat (AKA bruk) era.