Splice Spotlights South Africa's Signature Sounds

Today, Splice, the platform dedicated to helping music creators bring their ideas to life, has launched Splice Sessions: South Africa.

This collection features five new sample packs that span genres including Afro House, amapiano, gqom, and Afro Tech, capturing the region’s unique sounds, instruments, and culture. Previously, Splice Sessions has released sample packs inspired by Senegal and Anguilla.

Recorded at Jazzworx, Johannesburg’s leading recording studio, the platform collaborated with both seasoned and up-and-coming South African musicians, such as Kooldrink (Tyla, Aluna), Dr Feel (Defected), Afro Tech duo Kususa (Defected, Get Physical, Armada), and renowned guitarist Themba Mokoena (Sibongile Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuka).

Splice Sessions: South Africa amplifies the voices of musicians and producers who embody the soul, depth, and undeniable energy of South Africa’s musical heartbeat.

“Creating the Amapiano Pop pack for Splice was such a fun experience. Amapiano has its own unique vibe, and I wanted to make it easy for producers everywhere to tap into. Can’t wait to share this with South Africa and the world—hope it inspires more artists to explore the sound and push it even further!” said Kooldrink.

A new “Afro” genre has been added to the platform’s “Create” tool, enabling producers, songwriters, and instrumentalists to use these samples with Splice AI to build song starters and stacks.

In 2024, Afro House became the third fastest-growing genre among Splice users in Johannesburg, with a spike in downloads of over 200%. The genre has drawn international attention and ranks among the top ten most searched genres on Splice.

“Partnering with Splice has been an amazing opportunity to elevate the authentic sounds of South Africa,” said Kususa. “We’re really excited to share our pack and hope it inspires other producers.”

“We’re thrilled to introduce these South African sounds to creators worldwide. Genres like Afro House, Afro Tech, and amapiano are at the forefront of music’s future,” said Kenny Ochoa, Splice’s SVP of Content. “The team had an incredible time collaborating with these local musicians to capture the energy of South Africa and Johannesburg, and the result is electric.”

Splice Sessions: South Africa is available now and includes:

Ngoma Afro House || Pack Creator: Dr Feel
Amapiano Pop || Pack Creator: Kooldrink
Ebusuku Gqom Sounds || Pack Creator: Hugo Tenza
Afro House Yethu || Pack Creator: Frigid Armadillo
Afrotech Kalahari || Pack Creator: TAU

More info about Splice

It’s the industry’s highest quality, royalty-free sample library. You can get access to millions of sounds made by top artists, labels, and sound designers.

The platform’s create mode does the hard work of matching compatible loops, so you can easily explore our catalog while you sketch out musical ideas. You can preview loops and one-shots in your track’s key and tempo, drag and drop sounds into your DAW, and organize your favorite samples, MIDI, and presets—all from their desktop app.

Watch this space for updates in the Music News category on SA Music Zone.