The Mix 009: Rosey Gold

It has been a year since you released your debut EP ‘Deep Rooted’, how has the response been?

So yeah, last year I dropped my first piece of music. I was always nervous to play my own music because nobody knew it was yours when I was at the start of releasing it. Especially as I’ve never released any music before this. So they are going to give you their honest opinion, and if they don’t like it, you’ll know. But everything was done independently for my EP, the label was independent and I had no money for marketing. So, when you see the numbers everything is authentic. It wasn’t drilled in people’s faces like “buy my new song” and it wasn’t a TikTok sensation. I’m really grateful for the love and support I’ve been shown through the music even though I don’t have that big budget, I’m not with a big label. But the numbers have grown. I get really shy so when people are actually screaming when the song comes on, sometimes it’s a bit much, I’m like “Woah”. Like how do you know this song? It’s amazing, it’s such a lovely feeling it’s just overwhelming love.

How did you get into producing?

I’ve always wanted to produce ever since I started playing, but it was a thing where I was too scared to bring out music. As a woman, just have that imposter syndrome by not knowing how people are going to take it. However, I started producing in the early stages of my DJing. My manager is a sound engineer by profession and he mixes and masters all my music. But when I met him, I told him I had some music and he was the one who encouraged me saying “Okay we need you to release this.” Then he introduced me to Jay Music and Tremic Dah Rockstar. The three of us made my song ‘Toxic Drumz’ and then ‘Kanye West’. I just needed the confidence to say ‘I can do this.’

Can you talk about your upcoming releases?

On my first EP, I had a track called ‘Bass Addicts’ and I worked with Audio Addicts who are very, very talented producers. I love their sound because it’s similar to mine, so it’s an influence [mix] of gqom and amapiano and tech. That’s what I love. That’s my genre. I love infusing those three genres together. I heard their music and I was like woah. So I hit him up and then he sent me a piece of work, and there was a back and forth but we made it. We’re working together again and we have made something amazing. I don’t even have a name for it. But we’ll figure something out. I’ve also made a mixtape. My manager actually also manages Jay Music and Tremic so he had this idea of making a mixtape with the three of us. I think there are seven to eight tracks. We’re dropping that soon, and then I’m dropping my own personal body of work after that.

Wow, you’ve spent a lot of time in the studio this year?

My main goal when I went home was to be in the studio. I’ve been working with a lot of producers to make that music catalogue. I’ve wanted to drop for quite a while now but just life happens. But I’m really excited.

What was the moment when you first discovered a passion to DJ?

To be honest for me, I’m not going to sit here and say I’ve been wanting to DJ since I was five-years-old because that’s a lie. I actually really started DJing four years ago. I had wanted to start playing a couple of years before that but in all honesty, the guy that was teaching me was really sleazy and made me feel really uncomfortable so I stopped the whole journey just because of that. But then, years passed and amapiano started making its move. I actually had gone through a really bad break-up. I was engaged and my ex didn’t want me out there – my Instagram was private and my life was all very private. But that’s why I hadn’t DJed. We broke up and the only thing that really got me out of bed – because I was in a really bad mental state – was music and amapiano. I decided to buy some decks and created my own little studio in my home and just started creating music for myself. I just started playing music for myself and it was very therapeutic for me. The only thing that physically got me out of bed was music. I’d like to say it saved my life. I was not okay but the only thing that kept me going was jumping on the decks. I would play music for hours and hours and hours. That’s when I thought to myself that I’d love to do this permanently. I didn’t know how, where or when, but I also saw that people were playing the sound but nobody was really from South Africa. Nobody was really playing it with the right mindset and that kind of background. I was like, maybe I try. I’m obviously very much influenced by the people that have kind of led the way here. There are a lot of artists who aren’t from South Africa who appreciate the sound and play it authentically. They do their research, promote it and play it. I’ve seen a lot of that and I think it’s interesting just to see how different nationalities are growing the sound with you.

Read this next: Spiritual storytelling: Charisse C’s fluid amapiano sets are building a bridge between continents

Some say there is not a huge range of well-known female amapiano artists. Would you agree?

I would say that at home in South Africa, it’s more male-dominated than it is in Europe. The bigger artists like DBN Gogo and Uncle Waffles are dominating and they keep getting the bookings – the bigger bookings. Whereas the smaller DJs are still working. Hopefully, that changes this year. My goal last year was to play on more stages, which is what’s happening now. I’m doing Boiler Room and I’ve got some gigs in Europe that I’ve played and then we’ve got Australia coming up – hopefully, if my visa is approved. I feel like we’re getting there with the female artists. Some males are starting to complain – especially the males here – because they’re not getting as much work as the females. I think gradually it’s changing. It’s going to take some time, but it is changing.

Do you have any smaller amapiano artists you’d like to shout out?

Mixolis is one I will always shout out just because I feel like he was the pioneer when it came to the scene at the beginning. When it first started, he paved the way and I don’t think he gets enough respect and appreciation. He actually taught me how to play. So yeah, shout out to him. Nicky Summers as well. She’s doing her thing. She’s also a London-based Caribbean who’s pushing the sound. She doesn’t have to, but she does because she loves it. It’s always nice to appreciate people who are just doing it because of the love. Who else can I shout out? There’s a DJ called Sofi MLow. She is Spanish and lives in London. She’s doing her thing as well. She came to Tanzania with me actually. When I was in South Africa, I had a kind of a little tour in Tanzania and they asked me if I could recommend anyone and I recommended her. So that was lovely.

Read this next: The beautiful chaos of Amapiano, South Africa’s emerging house movement

What’s one thing that you want the readers of Mixmag to know about you or take away from this whole interview?

I will never be stationary. I will always keep evolving with the sound and I’m not bound by a specific genre or a specific BPM or a specific sound. As much as I love and adore amapiano, I’m not just amapiano, there’s more. You know, there’s more to me. I will just keep evolving with the sound and with my sound.

What can you tell us about your instalment of The Mix?

My mix is a fusion of sounds deeply rooted in my cultural heritage. It weaves together elements of amapiano, 3-step, and gqom, creating a dynamic blend of rhythms and melodies. Through my music, I aim to transport listeners to the heart of my hometown, South Africa. Imagine yourself lounging poolside, with a refreshing beverage in one hand and a boerewors roll in the other, while the aroma of a braai fills the air and your uncle tends to the grill. This mix seamlessly blends contemporary beats with timeless traditions, capturing the essence of modern South African music while honouring its classical roots.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add?

I think what I would like to mention, which is very random because nobody really asks this question, but there seems to be a debate between Afrobeats and amapiano and Nigerians. They seem to have this mindset that they have made amapiano better or made the sound more mainstream. I love Afrobeats – it’s amazing. It’s one of my favourite genres. I listen to it all the time. But Afrobeat and amapiano are very different. Nigerians have their own sound, which I call Afropiano. But if if you study amapiano, it actually stems from house music, which Afrobeats has nothing to do with. House music in South Africa is huge, huge, huge! So, the difference between Nigerian amapiano and South African amapiano is that our amapiano stems from house music and theirs stems from Afrobeats.

Get tickets to Rosey Gold’s headline London show at Night Tales on May 26 here

Becky Buckle is Mixmag’s Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter