Fantasma, the latest project of South African innovator and creative pioneer Spoek Mathambo, is a five-man collective which weaves together electronica, hip-hop, traditional Zulu maskandi music, shangaan electro, South African house, psych-rock and punk to form a unique, original and fresh hybrid.

The godfather of ‘Bacardi House’, producer DJ Spoko joins with former Machineri guitarist André Heldenhuys, drummer Michael Buchanan and maskandi multi-instrumentist Bhekisenzo Cele to complete the line up.

Fused by Spoek Mathambo’s futurist vision, Fantasma pulls inspiration from all corners of South Africa: the sounds and spirits of townships and cities as well as the rural countryside. It is diverse not only in its membership but also in its forward-looking music.

Their debut ‘Eye of the Sun EP’ is out now via Soundway Records. Title track ‘Eye of the Sun’ kicks off at a frenetic pace, with the interplay between Cele’s bass & Geldenhuys psych guitar at the forefront. ‘Shangrila’ is all sunshine and warmth and features South African artist Moonchild on vocals.

‘Sefty Belt’ shimmers over 5 minutes with Geldenhuys’s hazy guitar complementing the soul vocals of guest vocalist JOSIAHWISE IS THE SERPENTWITHFEET.

Spoek recently wrote of his excitement on Facebook:

“Glad to finally share what I’ve been working on this year. It’s been such an amazing journey with Fantasma. This 5-track EP is the introduction. We are following up in Feb with our album FREELOVE.What do you think?

Been trying to get this sound for years now. I tried to get the beats with first album Mshini Wam, but couldn’t really get the right feel and slacked on lyrics. I tried to get the depth on my second album, but got derailed somewhere along the line.”What do you think?

The EP is streaming in full via Okayafrica. Watch the Video for “Fafi” and listen to two tracks below. You can purchase ‘Eye of The Sun’ here.