Vv Pete Bridges South African Dance Music And Western Sydney Finesse On New Track ‘WASSA’

Western Sydney’s Vv Pete has emerged into the new year with her dominating, dancefloor-ready single WASSA as an introduction into her forthcoming debut project VARVIE WORLD.

Following up from her assassin-themed track Taken in late 2024, WASSA comes packed with Pete’s signature hypnotic flow, tinged with the sounds of Gqom – an African electronic dance music genre originating from Durban, South Africa. With production handled by her frequent collaborator and Trackwork label founder UTILITY, as well as additional help from Gqom pioneers Formation Boyz, the song is a direct reflection of Vv’s sonic influences as she steps into the curation process of her well-anticipated first project.

“Formation Boyz are amazing,” Vv said in a press release. “UTILITY brought our sounds together. Bringing a gqom sound back to West Sydney, and having those worlds come together is what makes WASSA go off.”

In between the minimal drone and Gqom rhythm styles, and Vv’s always hardhitting delivery, the song acts as an instant dancefloor filler as the artist instructs listeners to get up and move with the repeating line of “Left foot, left right. Left- foot. Left foot, Left right”. This call to action is nothing unfamiliar with Vv’s work, as her discography has developed into a playlist of club anthems.

Speaking on what the title WASSA means to the song’s story, Vv said: “WASSA isn’t a word. It’s not what’s up, it’s not WhatsApp. WASSA is trying to get people into their highest spirit and dance. Just dance! And share your story through dancing. Wassa for me is getting up and being able to represent who you are as a person.”

With the release also comes a music video drop which draws inspiration from Gqom Taxi culture in Durban. According to The Fader, Gqom Taxi culture is built on Durban’s taxi drivers, who blast Gqom music while shuttling passengers to parties. In a similar vein, Vv and her crew dance around industrial landscape areas with shipping containers, trucks and a sand quarry, riding in a taxi while the song plays out of a huge subwoofer system. Creative directed and produced by Trackwork, the video utilises several image-capture techniques like reverse cameras and POV to capture the undeniable party energy the song possesses.

As the year moves forward, Vv gears up to make her debut performance at SXSW Texas in March, with the release of VARVIE WORLD to follow suit shortly after.

In the meantime, check out the music video for WASSA by Vv Pete below.