South African house music producer UPZ has returned from a five-year break with a full album, The Comeback!
Cape Town, South Africa (24 April 2026) – More new music to make you want to hit the club like in the naughties!
If you grew up on South African house music, you know UPZ. Pure Surprise. Believing. Uzongilinda. The local producer built a catalogue of soulful house music that played across clubs in SA in the mid-2000s and the decade following. Many of those tunes still make the playlist for us.
Then, in 2018, he took a five-year-long hiatus with no new releases, performances, or DJ sets. The return started in late 2023 with a string of fresh singles, exploring deep house, soulful house, and then stretching into Afrotech and 3-step. UPZ then found his way back to his soulful roots, building on what would come next.
It finally arrived! The local producer has just dropped a full album titled The Comeback that collects the best of his renewed creative period alongside brand-new material. Back-to-back bangers.
The tracklist is fire emojis.
There are collaborations with Salvador, Mo-T, Digital Sangoma, and Sofiya Nzau, the viral Afro house star whose track Na Wose caught the attention of Black Coffee. Then there’s Boom Boom, featuring a guest appearance from dancehall legend Beenie Man. Beloved older tracks Believing and Disco Girl get the fresh 2.0 treatment.
A standout track is the moody, atmospheric 3-step standout Uthando Luyabaleka, a vocal-led track featuring a male-female duet with Dahl Hates Disco.
UPZ also steps into neo-soul and nu-disco under the alias AL Catraz, and explores Afrofusion as Fynite.
“The hiatus gave me permission to start over creatively. I came back knowing exactly what UPZ sounds like — and confident enough to push past it. This album is the fullest version of what I do: soulful, musical, and unafraid of where the music wants to go. I hope listeners feel that freedom when they hear it.”
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Sources: Plug Music Agency.
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