Gqom

History and character

Gqom (pronounced with the Zulu 'click' of the q) is a genre of electronic music born in the early 2010s in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). The name comes from the Zulu click consonants that imitate the thump of a kick or a drum. It emerged in the townships with homemade productions (often on cracked FL Studio) spread via WhatsApp, flash drives and taxis: Durban's taxi culture and taxi ranks shape the genre, to the point that the subgenre 'taxi kick' was born.

Key producers: Naked Boyz (“Ithoyizi”), Rudeboyz, Sbucardo, Griffit Vigo (credited with the 'sweep' sound, similar to a broom), Nasty Boyz, DJ Lag, Menzi Shabane, Distruction Boyz, Citizen Boy (who with Sbucardo coined the term 'three-step' in the mid-2010s). The singer Babes Wodumo became the genre's star with “Wololo” and the gwara gwara dance. The label Gqom Oh! (founded by the Italian Nane Kolè) spread the genre in Europe; DJ Lag produced “My Power” for Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift (2019, with Busiswa and Moonchild Sanelly).

Traditional gqom is minimal, raw and repetitive, with very heavy bass and without the four-on-the-floor of house: broken kick, tom rolls, Zulu chants, vocals, drones, keyboards, whistles, drum pads, howls; a dark, almost industrial atmosphere, dark reverbs. Substyles: sgubhu (four-on-the-floor kick, closer to house), 3-step (hits grouped in threes, combined with broken beat), gqom 2.0 (slower, mixed with amapiano), and the amapiano quantum sound, which derives from it.

Scales and keys

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — S T T T S T T (semitones 1 2 2 2 1 2 2)
• Example on F: F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb
• Characteristic note: the b2: a semitone above the tonic, a dark, Spanish-flavored, menacing color
• Diatonic triads: Fm (i) – Gb (II) – Ab (III) – Bbm (iv) – Cdim (v°) – Db (VI) – Ebm (vii)
• Seventh chords: Fm7 (i7) – Gbmaj7 (IImaj7) – Ab7 (III7) – Bbm7 (iv7) – Cm7b5 (vø7) – Dbmaj7 (VImaj7) – Ebm7 (vii7)
• Use in the genre: when there is a pitched element (drone, synth, bass) it is often a semitone 1–b2 movement or a pedal with the b2 as tension: the genre's dark color.
• Real-world example: the drones and synth riffs of many gqom tracks revolve around a pedal with semitone oscillations (check the individual track).
• Common mistakes: 'bright' melodies: gqom is dark and hypnotic.

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — T S T T S T T (semitones 2 1 2 2 1 2 2)
• Example on G: G A Bb C D Eb F
• Characteristic note: the b6: melancholy; with the b7 (no leading tone) the minor stays 'circular'
• Diatonic triads: Gm (i) – Adim (ii°) – Bb (III) – Cm (iv) – Dm (v) – Eb (VI) – F (VII)
• Seventh chords: Gm7 (i7) – Am7b5 (iiø7) – Bbmaj7 (IIImaj7) – Cm7 (iv7) – Dm7 (v7) – Ebmaj7 (VImaj7) – F7 (VII7)
• Use in the genre: minor pads and stabs on a single chord or on i–VI; vocal chants on top.
• Real-world example: the more 'melodic' gqom 2.0 productions close to amapiano.
• Common mistakes: long progressions: the harmony is a pedal.

Minor pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — 1½T T T 1½T T (semitones 3 2 2 3 2)
• Example on F: F Ab Bb C Eb
• Characteristic note: no semitones: b3 and b7 without 2 and b6, an open sound that 'can't go wrong', ideal for riffs and hooks
• Use in the genre: Zulu chants, whistles and repeated vocals: 2–4 notes of a minor pentatonic, often almost spoken.
• Real-world example: Babes Wodumo — Wololo (2016): repeated chants over a minimal beat.
• Common mistakes: chants not in tune with the drone: tune samples and vocals to the same tonic.

How to choose among the genre's scales

• Traditional gqom → pedal with a Phrygian color (b2), or no harmony at all.
• Gqom 2.0 / melodic → Aeolian.
• Vocals and chants → minor pentatonic.
• In gqom, timbre (sub, toms, reverb) matters more than the scale.

Harmony

Harmonic function

Almost absent: a tonic pedal (sub or drone) throughout the track, with possible minor stabs or pads on 1–2 chords. The 'harmony' comes from the tuning of the sub, toms and drone, which must be tuned to each other.

Elements

• Dark, sometimes dissonant drones and pads.
• Short synth stabs in a rhythmic figure.
• Vocals and chants as the main melodic element.

Voicings

Few elements in the mid register; all the weight is below 150 Hz.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

Broken beat at about 120–130 BPM, without four-on-the-floor: the kick is broken and syncopated, with hits often grouped in threes (3-step) that create a feeling of suspension; 0% swing (rigid, mechanical grid), but with figures that constantly shift the accent.

Elements

• Broken kick (e.g. 1, 1a, 2&, 3& — see r-gqom).
• Low and high toms answering, tom rolls in the transitions.
• Clap/snap on 2 and 4 or absent.
• Light shaker/hi-hat in sixteenth notes.
• Sweeps, whistles, sampled voices as percussion.

Variants

• Sgubhu: four-on-the-floor kick (more house).
• 3-step: groups of three within a 4/4.
• Gqom 2.0: slower, amapiano swing.

Drums

Kick

• Broken and syncopated (1, 1a, 2&, 3& or 3-step figures), very deep with a long tail; constant, high velocity. In sgubhu it moves to four on the floor.

Toms

• Low toms and high toms that answer the kick (e.g. high on 3 and 11, low on 7 and 15); tom rolls in sixteenth notes and triplets in the transitions. Tuned to the tonic or the fifth.

Clap / snap

• Dry clap on 2 and 4 or a metallic rim; often with dark reverb.

Shaker / hi-hat

• Light sixteenth notes with accents; sometimes absent to leave the beat 'naked'.

Percussive FX

• Sweeps (filtered noise like a broom), whistles, sirens, vocal hits, howls.

Interaction

• Kick and sub are one; toms and clap create the dialogue; the chants fit between the hits.

By section

• Intro: drone and vocal, or toms alone.
• Drop: kick and sub.
• Break: tom rolls, sweeps, chants.
• DJ-style structure, sections of 16–32 bars.

Typical mistakes

• Putting the kick on the quarter notes (it turns into house/sgubhu).
• Toms not tuned to the sub.
• Too many elements: gqom is minimal.

Bass

• Sound: enormous sub (sine or tuned long kick), often the kick itself with a long tail; register E1–A1.
• Rhythm: follows the broken kick.
• Notes: fixed tonic, rarely changes.
• Mix: mono, saturated just enough, watch for clipping on the master.

Harmonic instruments

• Dark drones and pads.
• Short synth stabs.
• Keyboards with 'cheap' DAW sounds (part of the aesthetic).

Melody and vocals

Vocals

• Repeated Zulu chants, shouts, short rhythmic phrases; howls; female and male voices in call-and-response (Babes Wodumo, Busiswa).

Effects

Long, dark reverb, filtered delays, pitch-shifting, chopped vocal samples.

Instruments

• Drum machine/DAW: kick, toms, clap, shaker
• Sub bass
• Drone, pads, synth stabs, keyboards
• FX: sweeps, whistles, sirens
• Vocals, Zulu chants, howls

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Mini V — Sub and long kick: Sine with fast pitch envelope and long decay, tuned to the tonic.
• ARP 2600 V — Sweeps and noises: Filtered noise with envelope for the 'sweep' and FX.
• Korg MS-20 V — Aggressive stabs and drones: Resonant filters and drive for dark sounds.
• Prophet-5 V — Dark pads: Pads with closed filter and long reverb.
• Modular V — Drones and textures: Evolving drones and industrial textures.

Song structure

Typical form (≈ 4:00–7:00)

Arrangement

Minimal: few elements that change every 16 bars; tension comes from rhythmic displacements and subtraction.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Heavy, dark and minimal: enormous, mono sub and kick, powerful, tuned toms, a dry clap, dark and deep reverbs, spectral vocals. References: Babes Wodumo — Wololo, DJ Lag (Gqom Oh!), Distruction Boyz, Beyoncé — My Power (prod. DJ Lag).

Kick / sub

• HP 25 Hz, fundamental 40–55 Hz (+3 dB), −3 dB at 250–400 Hz; light saturation; mono; limiter/clipper on the track.

Toms

• HP 50 Hz, body 80–150 Hz, attack 2–3 kHz; dark reverb (hall 2–3 s, LP 3 kHz) in parallel; panning ±20–40.

Clap / snap

• HP 300 Hz, +2 dB at 1–2 kHz; long, dark reverb.

Shaker

• HP 800 Hz, low volume, panning ±30.

Drone, pads, stabs

• HP 200 Hz, LP 5–8 kHz, long reverb; wide stereo.

Vocals

• HP 120 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, +2 dB at 3 kHz; compression 4:1; dark reverb and long delays.

FX

Sweeps with filter and panning automation; whistles with delay.

Buses and groups

Drum bus with saturation; low-end bus with limiter.

Sidechain

Kick → drone/pad (3–5 dB) to let the beat breathe.

Master

• Chain: EQ → clipper (2–3 dB) → limiter −1 dBTP.
• Target: −8/−6 LUFS integrated, true peak ≤ −1 dBTP; PLR 6–8 dB. Check the sub on a real sound system.

Common mistakes

• Sub and toms clashing in frequency or pitch.
• Bright reverbs: they must be dark.
• Too many melodic elements.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Babes Wodumo — Wololo (2016)
• Distruction Boyz — Omunye (2016)
• DJ Lag — Gqom Oh! repertoire
• Beyoncé feat. Busiswa and others — My Power (2019, prod. DJ Lag)

Reference listening

• Naked Boyz — Ithoyizi (anni 2010)
• Babes Wodumo — Wololo (2016)
• Distruction Boyz — Omunye (2016)
• DJ Lag — repertorio Gqom Oh! (anni 2010)
• Beyoncé, Busiswa, Moonchild Sanelly e altri — My Power (2019, prod. DJ Lag)