Culolethu Zulu (born 20 August 1990 in Eshowe,

Kwazulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

), known commonly by his stage name Culoe De Song, is a South African record producer, DJ and sangoma. His first name, "Culolethu", is an IsiZulu name meaning "our song", and he is known as "Culo" or "Culoe" meaning "song"; the name is pronounced with a clicking "C", not to be erroneously pronounced like the Spanish word "culo", which rhymes with "cool". He released his first album, A Giant Leap, in 2009. In 2011, he released his album ''Elevation'' with the help of Kindnes Khupe, a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an-born tribal mix DJ. Later, he released ''Exodus'' (2013). Culoe De Song recently won The Best Male Artist for the 2014

Metro FM Awards The 15th installment of the annual Metro FM Music Awards is an award ceremony in the South African music industry honouring musicians who did exceedingly well in their field throughout 2015. The show first aired on SABC 1 on February 27, 2016. The ...

for his album ''Exodus'', an album that was featured on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s (South Africa) Top 500 Albums of 2013. He also participated in the 2008

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

Early life and career

He began his music career in early 2007 DJing in South Africa alongside local acts like

Black Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially ava ...

and international visitors like

Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team. Biography He was born to a ...

and Rocco. Following his forays in DJing, Culoe De Song began exploring production where he collaborated with Black Coffee on the track "100 Zulu Warriors", who included the tunes tribal aural assault on his second album ''Have Another One''. Culoe De Song was later signed to Black Coffee's label Soulistic Music and was selected as one of the worldwide participants to attend the 2008

held in

. This made him one of the youngest participant in the academy's history. While in Spain, Culoe De Song performed at Club Macerana and Fellini in Barcelona and was later invited to perform at Sonar in Spain. In 2009, Culoe De Song released the EP ''The Bright Forest'' on this German record label Innervisions. This release introduced him to a wider European audience and electronic scene. Culoe De Song then started on his international showings while at the same time releasing his debut album, ''A Giant Leap'', an album that went gold. The album got him award nominations in multiple categories, for the 2010

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...

, the Namibian Museke Awards, and the 2010

Metro FM Metro FM is a national commercial radio station in South Africa owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts on FM Stereo as well as the DStv Bouquet Channel 801. Telephone : History The station started broad ...

awards. He released his second album, ''Elevation'', in 2011, where he collaborated with France’s deep house DJ and producer Rocco as well as local South African acts, such as

Goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...

and funk dub four piece

340ml 340ml (pronounced: ''three forty mil'') is an African musical group who originate from Mozambique, Maputo, but are now based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have therefore jokingly been described by some as being "Jozambican". The band incor ...

. The Japanese label Mule Musiq and German Label Innervisions released several singles centered on his Afrocentric rhythms and subtle digital textures. Culoe De Song continues to perform as a DJ at corporate events, clubs, and international music festivals. Notable festivals performed at include the Smirnoff Night Life Exchange worldwide tour in

São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of Yu ...

Amsterdam Dance Event The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is a five-day electronic music conference and festival held annually in mid-October. The event, organised by The Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation, offers a full programme of daytime conferences at ADE Pro, ADE Tech ...

and the

Winter Music Conference The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings togethe ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, SolarFest (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), and also Weather (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Oslo World Music Festival Oslo World Music Festival (established in 1994 by the name Verden i Norden in Oslo, Norway) is an annual festival presenting music from all over the world, with a primary focus on Asia, Africa and Latin America. History The festival started as a co ...

(

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

), Festival Week-end au bord de l’eau (

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

), and local South African festivals

Oppikoppi Oppikoppi was a music festival held in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, near the mining town of Northam. The festival started off focusing mostly on rock music, but gradually added more genres and now plays host to a complete mixed bag of ...

, Rocking the Daisies, and JnB Start a Party. He has performed alongside

Seth Troxler Seth Troxler is an American DJ and record producer from Lake Orion, Michigan. His DJ work focuses on house and techno, while he has produced on the Wolf + Lamb, Crosstown Rebels and Circus Company labels, collaborating with artists Art Department ...

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...

Little Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer of Puerto Ricans in the United States, Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production ...

Carl Craig Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980 ...

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, DJs At Work, Rocco, Manoo, Ralf Gum, JoJo Flores, and Boddhi Satva. Culoe De Song is growing with popularity as a South African icon being featured in the likes of ''

'', '' Shook'', ''The New Age'' (South Africa), '' GQ'', and '' Raveline'' (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Discography

Albums

* '' A Giant Leap'' (2009) * ''Elevation'' (2011) * ''Exodus'' (2013) * ''Washa'' (2016) * ''Life'' (2020)

Selected remixes

* Qness ft. Oluhle - "Fugama Unamathe" (Culoe De Song Serenity Mix) *

ft. Hugh Masekela - "We Are One" (2011) * Black Coffee - "Crazy" (Culoe De Song Winter Remix) (2011) * Ternielle Nelson - "African Woman" (Culoe De Song Remix) (2011) * Claude Monnet and Torre Bros - "Megouli Awasse" (Culoe De Song Window of God Mix) (2011) *

feat. Monique Hellenberg - "Call Me" (Culoe De Song Remix) (2011) * Reggie Dokes - "Let Me Go" (Culoe De Song Zulu Spirit Mix) (2012) * DJ Kent feat. Zaki Ibrahim - "Sunrise" (Culoe De Song Remix) (2013) * Glenn Lewis - "Good One" (Culoe De Song Remix) (2013)

Selected singles and EP's

* ''The Bright Forrest'' EP (2009) * "Fallen Siren" (2009) * ''Webaba'' EP (2010) * "Ambush" (2010) * "Stig Boardersman" (2013) * ''Medicine'' EP (2018)

DJ mixes

* ''RA 146'' by Culoe De Song

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Live DJ Sets Videos
{{Authority control 1990 births Living people Deep house musicians South African electronic dance music DJs