Get 20% OFF your 2nd class when you buy your first with the CODE
ART2025
Grooves From the First Light
There is a whole underground dance-music movement happening between Cape Cod and the South Coast, and WAMPTRONICA is helping shape its sound.
The southeastern Massachusetts collective was formed by Mashpee Wampanoag music creatives and describes its sound as Deep Afro Jazz House Music — a blend of house, jazz, soul, funk and Afrobeats, often layered with live instrumentation, percussion and improvisation. At the center of the production are DaPhunkee Professor and The ZYG 808, whose work draws together contemporary electronic music and cultural traditions rooted much further back.
WAMPTRONICA traces its beginnings to 2021, when Mashpee Wampanoag creators Mwalim, The ZYG 808 and Asa Peters joined producer Futuractiv for what was originally intended to be a one-off gathering at the Native Arts Gallery in Mashpee. That experiment eventually grew into The THUMP & SOUL SESSION, their recurring dance experience built around music, movement and community.
And that community piece matters. WAMPTRONICA has taken its music beyond the traditional club setting, appearing in galleries, community spaces, outdoor events and cultural programming around New England. Their work reflects a larger mission of creating welcoming gathering spaces while making Indigenous presence visible within contemporary music and nightlife.
They are recording artists too. In 2026, WAMPTRONICA released the seven-track album INTERSESSION through Poly-Groove Records, followed by “The Bakery” on legendary New York house label Eightball Records — a percussion-driven Afro House release that also includes a Deep Afro-Jazz mix.
Their world also extends to FROM the UNDERGROUND, WAMPTRONICA’s mix show featuring underground house, rare groove, Afrobeat, remixes and original music. Recent episodes have included sets recorded around New Bedford and Cape Cod before being produced at Polyphonic Studios in East Wareham.
For a group born from an experiment in Mashpee, WAMPTRONICA has become something considerably larger: a meeting point between Indigenous creativity, Black and global dance-music traditions, live musicianship and the simple joy of people gathering around a beat.
Get to know them: @wamptronica
Where to catch them next
The next live WAMPTRONICA appearance is Thursday, October 8 at 8 PM for AHHHhhh! – House Music at The Speakeasy, part of AHA! After Dark at The Zeiterion in New Bedford. The event is free and follows the evening’s jazz jam, with musicians invited to improvise over WAMPTRONICA’s Afro-jazz house set.