Despite the weather’s best attempt to dampen Unleash The Wolf’s latest Eswatini Edition, it could not keep the crowd away.
Oryx Restaurant and Lounge once again came alive on the 6th of September for another serve of exclusive selections and an intentionally close knit crowd.
“The weather was terrible today. But people committed to still coming out and the community continues to day by day. This is exactly why we do what we do”
Says the leader of the pack, !Sooks, right after an energy-packed set.
His set moved between unreleased music and some of his latest work, including “Bring On The Night”, his collaboration with J Something as well as a song that The music stayed within the deeper side of house, with room for darker sounds and different alternate expressions.
“With UTW, we basically just wanted to create a sonic experience and really bring something unique to Eswatini. A raw experience. I believe We’ve kept and stuck to that vision”
That idea, he said, has remained at the centre of the experience since it’s very first edition in 2018. All Challenges incurred along the way were lessons.
International Fort
South African DJ Fusi Grace Moleko, better known as Fusion, made her debut performance in Eswatini but not a first under Unleash The Wolf. She has previously played at the Johannesburg edition and has shared her excitement coming into Eswatini where it originates.
Fusion started out with soulful house but says her sound has slowly moved towards deeper and more underground house music. She also describes herself as versatile and open to different sounds.
“I started with soulful house, but I think I’m maturing more in my sound. I’m growing more towards the deep, underground route of house, but I’m also very versatile. I play a bit of everything.”
Her relationship with DJing began in high school when a friend introduced her to beat matching.
She later stepped away from music for about 10 years. When the same friend encouraged her to return, he died in a car accident the very next day after an intentional visit to emphasize her taking her art seriously..
Fusion decided to continue with something they had once started together. She saved up for her own equipment and began teaching herself again.
Her return to music eventually brought her to Unleash The Wolf, where Dlamini heard her play and invited her to join the line-up.
Familiar Sounds, New Connections
China, who has performed in Eswatini before, sets off Unleash The Wolf with a tantalising set that brought decades of experience to the night. His mature sound fitted naturally into the event’s deep, soulful and underground house direction, while it also reflected the connections Unleash The Wolf continues to build between established artists and a growing local scene.
Cape Town-based producer and DJ, making his Eswatini debut, Dwson, arrived with some idea of what to expect, having witnessed !Sooks’s work internationally and having developed a musical relationship with him.
“I mean, these nights are orchestrated by !Sooks. So I knew that it would be something that I’d be able to dance to and connect with, you know? He’s been putting together some cool nights throughout SA. That’s my brother. We’ve also worked on so many songs together.”
Despite the weather, Dwson said the night reflected what he had expected from an Unleash The Wolf event.
“Wherever you go with house music, there’ll always be some sense of unity. The love felt the same in Eswatini as well.”
Eswatini Cements it’s Place
The local contribution was led by JazzInSoul, who opened the Sonic Flow programme before Alan Stewart, better known as DJ Wicked, took over.
As a creative, Wicked is versatile, working across R&B, hip-hop, dancehall, disco and house music. At Unleash The Wolf, however, he stayed within the house music sound of the night, adding to the event’s deeper direction.
The night was then taken towards its close by Miss T, one of Eswatini’s youngest female DJs, who delivered a strong closing set.
Together, the local DJs gave the night its Eswatini character, while the South African artists added another layer to the exchange between musicians and audiences across the border.
It was unfortunate that South African selector,Thabo Tonick was unable to make it due to last minute transport complications beyond the organizers’ control.
In the end, the rain became part of the story rather than the reason for it to end, a reminder that a community built around sound can keep finding its way back to the dance floor.
