SOUTH AFRICAN BREAKOUTS MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ AND MAJOR LAZER’S COLLABORATIVE AMAPIANO ALBUM PIANO REPUBLIK OUT NOW
March 23, 2023Piano Republik, the collaborative amapiano album from emerging South African superstars Major League Djz and Major Lazer, is out today via Mad Decent/Because—get it here and listen to “Ke Shy” featuring South African artists Tyla, LuuDaDeejay and Yumbs here.
“Africa is the center of musical energy for the whole world right now, and amapiano is easily one of the most exciting things happening,” says Walshy Fire of Major Lazer. “It’s blown up all over the continent, but it all started in South Africa, and Major League Djz are in the middle of everything. As soon as we got to experience their movement in real life, we knew we just had to collaborate.”
Piano Republik features previously shared tracks “Mamgobhozi” featuring the late Brenda Fassie, “Designer” featuring Nigerian star Joeboy and “Koo Koo Fun” featuring Nigerian icon Tiwa Savage and DJ Maphorisa, which was later remixed by Bianca Costa, Chloé Caillet, Francis Mercier and Nic Fanciulli—listen here.
The music on Piano Republik falls under the genre of amapiano, a South African style of house music that emerged in 2012 and is descended from the South African house genre kwaito and Afrobeats. Pioneered largely by Major League Djz, amapiano is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths, airy pads and wide percussive basslines and is currently topping charts in the U.K. and beyond.
The BET-nominated amapiano duo Major League Djz—twin brothers Bandile and Banele Mbere—have quickly risen to international visibility as stars of the South African dance music scene, serving as pioneers of the genre and de facto global ambassadors with hits like “Bakwa Lah” and “Dinaledi.” Since the release of their critically acclaimed album from 2021, Outside, they have gone on to break the world record for the longest DJ set performed by a duo, performing for 75 hours for a special edition of their Balcony Mix Xperience. Last year, they performed at Coachella alongside Black Coffee and sold-out a headline show at the O2 Academy Brixton. This summer, Major League Djz will be the first amapiano act to debut a massive London residency at new venue HERE at Outernet, playing and curating exciting lineups every Saturday in June. With fans and supporters including TEMS, Burna Boy, Honey Dijon, Jorja Smith, Rema, Asake, Stefflon Don and Jayda G regularly attending their parties in South Africa, Ghana and beyond, they're now poised to take the world by storm.
Major Lazer is the global dance trio of Diplo, Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. Named for the group’s fictional figurehead, a one-armed Jamaican Zombie War commando, Major Lazer’s mission is to free the universe with music. The band has released four acclaimed albums, 2009’s Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, 2013’s Free The Universe, 2015’s Peace Is The Mission, featuring the Diamond-certified “Lean On” with DJ Snake and MØ—one of the most successful songs of all time—and 2020’s Music Is The Weapon, which features songs in five languages and collaborations with Nicki Minaj, J Balvin, Marcus Mumford, Khalid, Alessia Cara, Anitta, Paloma Mami, Busy Signal, BEAM, Shenseea, Nucleya and more.
For more information, please contact Reid Kutrow, Ethan Jacobs or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.
MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ & MAJOR LAZER—PIANO REPUBLIK
1. Smoking & Drinking feat. Ty Dolla $ign
2. Ke Shy feat. Tyla & LuuDaDeejay
3. Ngibambe feat. Gaba Cannal & Russell Zuma
4. Designer feat. Joeboy
5. Koo Koo Fun feat. Tiwa Savage & DJ Maphorisa
6. Mamgobhozi feat. Brenda Fassie
7. Oh Yeah feat. Ty Dolla $ign
8. Stop & Go feat. Msaki
9. Higher Ground ft. Boniface
MAJOR LAZER LIVE
March 25 /// Miami, FL /// Get Lost Miami*
March 25 /// Las Vegas, NV /// XS
June 30 /// Turin, IT /// Kappa FuturFestival*
August 12 /// Saalburg-Ebersdorf, DE /// SonneMondeSterne Festival
* b2b with Major League Djz