teaching the world to three step

Few producers have created a sound as recognisable and influential as South Africa’s Thakzin in recent years. He is widely acknowledged as the driving creative force behind the growth of ‘three step,’ a new sub-genre of Afro-[insert your own categorisation]. 

It’s tricky to pin the ‘three step’ sound down exactly. The bass drum is the clear distinguishing feature; it’s placed on the first three beats of each four beat rhythm: bum, bum, bum… bum, bum, bum. (Just a little slower than that.) It has the quality of feeling a little bit unpredictable — it’s there, then it’s gone, suggesting its way through a track. 

The bass drum is consistent but the instrumentation and melodies are much more varied. It has a diverse canvas of moods, from energetic and uplifting (Teka, Margaret) to something darker, brooding but still joyful (Libablele).

Thakzin personally describes the sound as a blend of amapiano and deep house with uniquely African rhythms and melodies.

Three step tracks have the same ‘forward-and-backward’ motion as the dance routines popular at African weddings. In these routines, the bridal party negotiates its way to the front of the dancehall; every few steps forward always somehow involves moving backward. For the uninitiated, a three-step dance often starts with a sway as you learn to trust the beat. It’s a gentler rhythm than ‘four-on-the-floor’ and more accessible than amapiano’s machine gun bursts of energy.

What three step does share more obviously in common with amapiano is the almost disappearing depth of its basslines (listen here). Tracks which sit on the grimier end of the spectrum blast the bass in sonic waves, enveloping you in sound (listen here for two minutes and note the shift of the three-step pattern). For sound system addicts, these are the tracks that will resonate most.  

Thakzin’s repertoire, however, is broader than just three step. As much as rhythm, his production and DJ sets are defined by rich chords and gorgeous melodies that just make you feel good. His remix of Lauv’s Modern Loneliness captures this mixture beautifully.

It’s a sound that has developed over the last decade. Early releases (like Adjustment and Bring My Air Guitar) were faster and more syncopated, with many of the features of traditional afrobeat: simpler, more repetitive melodic lines led by a honky-tonk guitar. With 2024 ears, there’s an air of naïveté to it all; but listen closely and you'll hear the foundations of a sound that has since taken the world by storm. Shimza’s 2015 album, One Man Show, is probably the defining production of this formative era. 

There are remnants of this sound in Thakzin’s more recent work. While a little slower, Fighter and Kalapel (2020) carry the same syncopated rhythms, but with a newer, heavier, more mature drum sound. Sound of Freedom, released in 2021 alongside Themba, stands out as a distinctly European, more trance like dance track; it’s a sound he has developed, with the masterful remix of Hugh Masekele’s Khawuleza. It’s not until I.C.U (2021) that familiar elements of three step start to appear, most notably the shakers, but the sound overall hues more closely to the afro electronic dance pioneered by Sun El Musician. 

Only Thakzin himself could pinpoint the moment when three step emerged definitively in his repertoire, but Libabele (2022) feels like an important milestone.

Despite being quite slow, the track has an almost chaotic energy; it prods forward and backward. At times, it feels like there are rhythms flying off in different directions, while the vocals (supplied by Nana Atta) and chords are luxurious. It’s that rare thing – a sound all on its own.

To date, Yes God and Horns in the Sun, collaborations with Oscar Mbo and MÖRDA respectively, are the biggest successes. But the genre has so much potential — it’s simple and versatile, familiar but slightly unpredictable. Most importantly, it’s fun.

The best inventions run away from their inventor. Thanks to Thakzin’s genius, three step promises to do just that.

Judah · Steps