Amapiano duo Mellow and Sleazy talk reimagining Pitori’s ‘Barcadi’ sound
The amapiano duo Mellow and Sleazy have kept Mzansi dancing their nights away, and hot on the heels of their success as hitmakers, the pair have released an EP called Midnight In Sunnyside
Not only are Mellow (Phemelo Sefanyetse) and Sleazy (Olebogeng Kwanaite) a duo, the are also friends whose friendship grew when they discovered they both had a passion for music. They have not looked back since they made it big with the single that launched their career, Bopha.
They've collaborated and worked on hits like Bopha — with Felo Le Tee, DJ Maphorisa, Young Stunna & Madumane, Nkao Tempela — released with Ch'cco, Thanda Kanjani coupled with Pabi Copper, 10 111 with fellow stablemate Mr JazziQ, and their two latest featured smash hits Abo Mvelo and Sjepa.
Speaking to TshisaLIVE the pair said the music they grew up listening to, Barcadi, played a great deal in influencing their sound. The sound, most popular and associated with Pitori townships, was pioneered by veteran artists including Machance and DJ Dadaman.
“The reason we chose to make music that has the sound ya Bacardi is because we listen to it. We also grew up around the music at Ga-rankuwa. They listen to Bacardi. The sound is fun with a lot of loudness and drum elements, ke trap yako Pitori ”
Before they made it big in the industry they had hopes to grow their fan base and their big break came at the right time.
“Our big break happened with Bopha that's when people started noticing us and it felt really good because that's when we realised we were really good,” said Sleazy
Though the pair are now making music together, Sleazy started making music in grade 7 until he met Mellow when they paired up in varsity while they were doing first year together. They both wanted to go far but knew they needed certain people on their side.
“We didn't know we would make it big at the time, but we knew if we had the right people in our corner it would happen. As soon as we worked with DJ Maphorisa things started happening. We knew we needed backup and that we couldn't do it on our own,” said Sleazy.
Midnight in Sunnyside is a compilation of Bacardi and amapiano vibes. It's all about life and the constant partying that goes down in Sunnyside.
“The reason we chose the people we worked with on this EP is because we mostly like to work with underground producers and underground artists but talented ones. The name behind the EP was because we recorded all of it in Sunnyside at midnight,” said Mellow.
“We are very happy with the direction that we've taken because it has brought us this far and now we are busy with our new album and we are trying to push amapiano as well as grow the sound by mixing amapiano with different genres, so we are very happy.
“I don't really remember my expectations, but the blow up is not what I was expecting,” said Sleazy.
Mellow and Sleazy spoke with one voice when it came to what fans can expect from them.
“There's a new sound we are pushing and experimenting with. That's what we are focusing on and its called ancestral piano. It's got Angolan and Nigerian themes and that will go into the new album and people,” said Mellow.
“Our hope is to change the game, grow it so we can evolve and diversify our sound,” said Sleazy.