In all my 25 years of diggin’ records in South Africa I have never, ever come across a James Brown record. As an obsessive collector of the American legend JB I found that very strange. And I wondered if any records by the man had ever been released in South Africa? So I told journalist and fellow record collector Fred de Vries. He lives in South Africa, and knew that there was a JB record in his collection. A South African pressing with the King logo label. Apparently very rare, just like other James Brown releases that can be seen on the back of the sleeve of “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”. Released in South Africa in 1967, two years after the American release. This compilation of previously released material James Brown & The Famous Flames includes work from the period 1960-1965. Now this rare gem has ended up in my own James Brown collection. With thanks to Fred de Vries. Top gift. Thank you!
This book is a real page turner. Honest, deeply moving at times, but above all witty and written with a great sense of perspective. Recommended!
His Majesty the King Willem Alexander will award the Dutch Erasmus Prize to the South African comedian Trevor Noah (Johannesburg, 1984) in the Royal Palace Amsterdam on Tuesday afternoon, November 28 2023. The King is Regent of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. The theme of this year’s prize is ‘Praise of Folly’. Princess Beatrix will also be present at the ceremony.
The jury awards Noah the prize for his inspired contribution to the theme area ‘Praise of Folly,’ named after Erasmus’ book that focuses on humor, social criticism and political satire. With his talent for mocking, linguistic and connecting political humor, Noah acts ‘in an Erasmian spirit,’ according to the jury.
“As a humorist, television host, political commentator, philanthropist and author, Trevor Noah has confidently taken his place at the focal point of contemporary political satire. In his autobiography ‘Born a Crime’, Noah describes how, as the child of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father during Apartheid, he was confronted with institutional racism and violence early in his life. From that experience he confronts injustice and shows us its absurdity; not with cynicism, but with the liberating power of laughter,” said the jury report. With his reflections on issues such as the rise of ‘fake news’, the presidency of Donald Trump, the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter, he attracted a young, diverse audience worldwide and, according to the jury, he was a breath of fresh air in a fierce polarized media landscape.
The Erasmus Prize is awarded annually to a person or institution that has made an important contribution to the humanities, social sciences and the arts within the framework of Europe’s cultural traditions. The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation focuses on a different theme every year. The prize consists of a cash prize of 150,000 euros. In its 65-year existence, a humorist has won the Erasmus Prize once before: Charlie Chaplin received the prize from Prince Bernhard in 1965.
Under the guise of An Interplanetary Night, Space is the Place organizes events that pushes a variety of boundaries, crossing musical borders, exploring genres that span from electro-acoustic to roots music and jazz. This edition plays with such contrasts, seeking a balance between the abstract improvisation on one hand, and a dedication to the rich musical culture of South Africa on the other. The program features no less than eight performances.
LUCIJA GREGOV SOLO
Lucija Gregov is a cellist, improviser, and sound artist whose work describes and explores new sonic landscapes, integrating analogue synthesizers and field recordings into her compositions along the way. By engaging in interdisciplinary and often community-oriented work, she pushes traditional cello boundaries, creating a dynamic approach to her improvisation and sound art. She rarely performs solo, so come and witness.
PIETRO ELIA BARCELLONA SOLO
Pietro Elia Barcellona is a double bassist, composer, and improviser active in the field of experimental music. In contemporary music, he has worked with renowned composers and ensembles alike, including the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble. Pietro is deeply interested in contemporary music exploration, focusing on the relationship between musical gesture and rhythm. He will perform a fragment of his recent, elongated sound work.
SANEM KALFA / HARMEN FRAANJE
Sanem Kalfa, recognized for her distinctive vocals and known through her SITProductions project Televizyon, and Harmen Fraanje, celebrated for his masterful piano skills over the past two decades and as a leading teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, are coming together for a special performance during An Interplanetary Night. Expect improvised surprises and intimate tunes.
MO VAN DER DOES / WILBERT DE JOODE / GIACOMO CAMILLETTI
Space is the Place asked the young saxophonist Mo van der Does to form a bar band trio with Giacomo Camilletti and Wilbert de Joode for this special evening. Accompanied by Giacomo’s skilled drumming and Wilbert’s renowned double bass practice, the atmosphere will be kept vibrant in the Bimhuis café.
REMCO MENTING
Remco Menting’s musical journey began at the age of seven with the piano, later transitioning to drumming, partly under the guidance of the legendary jazz drummer Han Bennink. He was part of the innovative trio Kapok. Moreover, he has explored the vibraphone, sabar music, theatre, and teaching. Remco performed previously during Space Impro at De Ruimte, impressing us with his percussive works.
SOFAYA FT. MICHAEL MOORE
Breathing fresh air into the Amsterdam improv scene, South African trumpeter James McClure has formed a new band called SOFAYA as part of SITProductions. In search of the rich and diverse culture of South African music, the octet embraces its compelling grooves and melodies. SOFAYA wants to bring out these characteristics in different styles by playing existing compositions out of different generations. Additionally, they will be joined by the acclaimed saxophone and clarinet player Michael Moore, who has experience in South African music through playing with Sean Bergin. SOFAYA will play two sets – one in the hall and one dance set in the café around midnight.
James McClure trumpet, Joao Guerra drums, Zenzele Mthembu-Salter bass, Marta Warelis piano, John Dikeman tenor sax, Diana Dzhabbar alto sax, Lezaam Beets trombone, Christian Chandler trombone
DJ EDDY DE CLERCQ PLAYS SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP JIVE & KWELA JAZZ
Amsterdam DJ veteran Eddy De Clercq, with a history of residencies at local clubs such as Paradiso and RoXY Amsterdam, is set to perform at An Interplanetary Night. He’ll be channelling his love for and collection of South African Township Jive & Kwela Jazz music, complementing the energy of the night.
Years ago Eddy launched a special website/blog Soul Safari to showcase the music of Africa with a strong emphasis on South Africa. Within this framework he released four compilation albums called ‘Township Jive & Kwela Jazz’ from different periods. Truly music treasures from a long gone past.
SOFAYA SOUNDSYSTEM
Several enthusiastic SOFAYA members, dedicated collectors who share their favourite songs with each other more than often, are now bringing their culture-laden records from their homes to the public ear for the very first time!
I am happy and proud to announce that on 19th June 2023 at 18.00h-20.00h-22.00h. the film ‘Coral: Rekindling Venus’ by Lynette Wallworth during the Holland Festival will open with my recital of the song “(A Poem for a) Coral Reef” from my latest album Afrotronic.
Coral: Rekindling Venus is a 360-degree film that takes the audience on an extraordinary journey into the mysterious world of fluorescent coral reefs and rare marine life. Created by one of associate artist ANOHNI’s favorite artists, who also contributed to the film’s soundtrack.
This film is specially intended for digital planetariums, so it comes into its own perfectly in the ARTIS Planetarium in Amsterdam. The viewer is immersed in a magical underwater world where a complex community of extraordinary creatures struggle to survive the increasing threat of climate change. The film is accompanied by music by Max Richter, Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Gurrumul, Laurie Anderson, Tanya Tagaq Gillis and ANOHNI.
After only recently learning of South African musicians such as Nduduzo Makhathini, FRED DE VRIES says we inhabit a dense forest of music that many of us haven’t even known about, let alone explored.
SOMETIMES, life can feel like dozing in the eye of a hurricane, not noticing the violent turbulence around you. And I’m not talking about politics (although I must say that the EFF protest didn’t even cause a ripple in our sleepy seaside town in the Deep South) but about music.
The other day I received an e-mail from a Dutch music friend who runs a small magazine called Platenblad. “My best album of 2022 is the brilliant and addictive InThe Spirit of Ntu by the South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini. How well known is that man in his own country?” he wrote.
“Hmm,” I wrote back, “to be honest I have never heard of Makhathini,” adding a shame-faced emoji. But when I asked my music-loving friends here, most of them also shook their head. Nduduzo who?
Some more examples. While going through the January issue of B ritish magazine TheWire, with its venerated end-of-year lists, I saw a number 43 position for a South African outfit called Phelimuncasi, whose album Ama Gogela was released on the Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. Phelimuncasi, I found out, are from Umlazi, near Durban. The uber-hip Pitchfork gave Ama Gogela a very good 7.6 and wrote: “Uninterested in subtlety or the slow burn of build-ups, they prefer sensory overload: clattering, repetitive polyrhythms and snarled call-and-response vocals.”
Elsewhere in the magazine, my eye fell on the Critical Beats Top 10, with a number one spot for a track by the South African duo QUE DJ & DJ Lag, Where’s Your Father. QUE’s real name is Thobani Mgobhozi and he grew up in KwaMashu, near Durban. TheWire filed Where’s Your Father under amapiano, which it described as a South African invention characterised by its “tantric pulse and huge sub bass”.
Back to Makhathini, who occupies a different musical space, although he too hails from KZN (uMgungundlovu, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg). The pianist is in his early 40s and plays pure jazz, especially drawing inspiration from the majestic John Coltrane Quartet, who made waves in the early sixties and released the still mind-boggling spiritual record A Love Supreme (Impulse! 1965).
Makhathini, who heads the music department at Fort Hare University, has released 10 albums, several of them on the American Blue Note label. So there you go, anyone with a vague interest in jazz, listen to In The Spirit of Ntu, which is also available on Spotify. It truly is wonderful, full of references to the golden era of improvisation yet uniquely South African.
What I’m trying to say here is that we inhabit a dense forest of music and many of us haven’t even heard of it, let alone explored it. The question is, where do you start? And that brings me to Eddy de Clercq, the Belgian-born DJ who happens to have a house in South Africa.
De Clercq became a phenomenon after he opened Club RoXY in Amsterdam in 1987. It was daring and decadent, and soon became the temple of techno and house in Europe, with De Clercq as its high priest. It went up in flames in 1999, on the day one of the other founders had been laid to rest.
By then De Clercq had already left, believing the club had become stale and predictable. Building on his reputation as a trend-setter, he became a globe-trotting DJ, earning tons of money with regular gigs in Paris, Brazil, New York, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, and meeting celebrities such as Madonna and Richard D James (Aphex Twin). He snorted Ritalin and was invited to debauched parties in Italy, indulging in cocaine and group sex.
But unlike many of his contemporaries who died from Aids or drugs, De Clercq was a survivor. He knew when enough was enough. In 2000, at the age of 45, he decided it was time for drastic changes. He said goodbye to the commercial DJ gigs and bought a holiday home in Boknes in the Eastern Cape.
He had visited South Africa for the first time in 1996, participating in a festival in Durban, and remembers: “Together with some Dutch DJs, we played until dawn for thousands of ravers; black, coloured, Indian and white. In other words, the rainbow nation in all its glory. And then, when the sun came up, to see the majestic sugar terminal in the port of Durban, surrounded by thousands of happy, smiling dancers, that was an unforgettable positive experience.
“I was completely taken in by the music that the local DJs played, kwaito and other styles that I had never heard before. It was fascinating for me to hear completely new dance music. In the West, we thought we knew it all.”
De Clercq became fascinated by our complex country, equal parts violent and hospitable, always exciting. It was especially the rich and under-appreciated music history that pulled him in. He spied new horizons and felt the urge to explore them.
“For example, in 1998 a friend from Port Elizabeth showed me his garage full of boxes with South African vinyl records – original singles and albums from the fifties, sixties and seventies: Cape jazz, township jive, kwela, jazz, disco boogie, a treasure of largely forgotten music,” he says.
“The collection came from local radio stations, and my friend had bought the whole lot to cherry-pick records by popular artists. He said I could take all the other boxes, because otherwise they would end up at the dump. He had no clue about this music. Nor did I. Until I started playing the records. That has broadened my horizons. And that’s why I started my blog Soul Safari in 1998 – I wanted to share the songs and provide context and background. I wanted to understand the history of this music and make connections.”
He subsequently also gained access to the rich music archives in Grahamstown and in 2011 released a selection of his findings as Township Jive & Kwela Jazz. Volumes 2, 3 and 4 duly followed.
De Clercq has always had his finger on the pulse, be it for disco, new wave, house or techno. For the new underground, he says, look no further. It’s here, right in front of us, in Africa. Some of the artists have already become huge, such as Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage and FireBoy DML from Nigeria. And do check out the fantastic music on Nyege Nyege Tapes and its Hakuna Kulala offshoot, with artists such as Afrorack, who creates whirling, dizzying electronic music from his studio in Kampala.
But let’s not forget our local heroes. De Clercq enthuses about the innovative electronic dance music that resulted in genres such as Mzansi house, gqom and amapiano. “Contrary to the four to the floor that defines most of the Western house and techno, South African musicians use local percussion and African rhythms. It’s not the heavy bass drum that dominates but the percussion, the groove.
“The production is often very bare and dry, minimalistic. Amapiano stands out because of the experimental use of extreme bass lines, next to each other, on top of each other, deeper and more pronounced than any Western house. And the tempo is much slower, with a big role for jazz influences and vocals in indigenous languages.”
Thanks to the internet, these new sounds have found their way to the rest of the world, hence their mention in magazines such as TheWire. It’s pure anarchy out there, with hardly a role left for traditional record companies. “The tracks are made by young producers who distribute their music via social media,” says De Clercq, who is proud to find himself mixing with these adventurous music makers from various parts of Africa.
Fred de Vries is a Dutch author and journalist who moved to South Africa in 2003. He used to play in a punk band and has written nine non-fiction books, among them Club Risiko, a look at 80s underground music in six cities, including London, Berlin, New York and Johannesburg.
please take some time out to listen to both sides of this unique and ultra rare album, recorded at an open air festival at the Witwatersrand University March 12th 1972 in Johannesburg. It was not a free festival, visitors were expected to contribute money to the organisation TEACH (Teach Every African Child), but the idea of the festival was that all visitors were “free people”.
The line-up of artists shows all colors of the Rainbow Nation, the idealized nation of all peoples who inhabit South Africa. It was apparently well possible in 1972 in South Africa that a festival brought together national musicians of all races and color in the spirit of Woodstock, the most famous rock concert and festival ever held in August 1969 in Bethel USA. For many, Woodstock showed the counterculture of the 1960s and the “hippie era” and I guess that the same ideals also applied to the folk festival on the grounds of the…
Afrotronic. All songs on the Afrotronic album are influenced by music from Southern to North Africa and all consists original elements from the local cultures, such as the use of original instruments like the mbira (kalimba) and traditional drums and percussion recorded with local musicians. African artists such as singers Consular, Yemu Matibe and Alungile Sixishe contribute to this album with warm voices, vocals sung in Ghanese and in the Xhosa language.
Afrotronic has ultimately become an adventurous, electronic, jazzy album, in which influences can be heard from Afro-pop, Dub Step, Deep House and South African Amapiano.
Check the livestream via Youtube, Facebook or Instagram!
dj Eddy De Clercq -AMAPIANO SET @ Cluster Unplugged Palazzo Brancaccio-ROMA 27 NOV 21. Playing my favourite SA House & Amapiano tunes, including some new tracks from Racheal Botha & presenting my new album AFROTRONIC. Thanks to Ferruccio Belmonte, Giacomo Guidi for the invite and hospitality & the party people from Roma @ Palazzo Brancaccio.
for my yearly X-mas mix I found inspiration in South African House and Amapiano music…playing my favorite new SA House tunes, some of my own productions and a few classic Afro-flavored tunes. Happy Holidays! Best wishes for 2022 from Soul Safari!
SOUL SAFARI 2021 X MAS AMAPIANO SET
Tracklist / Track/ Artist
01) Zikomo (Eddy De Clercq Remix -demo/unreleased lacquer) -Racheal Botha
02) Banyana -dj Maphorisa
03) Izolo-dj Maphorisa & Tyler ICU
04) Father To Be-Black Motion feat Dr. Malinga
05) unknown
06) Set Me Free (Main Mix) -Black Motion feat Xolim
07) Ongala (ARN4L2 Remix)-ARN4L2
08) Matoba (Arn4L2 Edit) – Veve -ARN4L2
09) Lagos Jump (Raw Mix -Afro Elements
10) Miss Ghana (Afro Baby) -Orlando Voorn Dub Step Remix -Eddy De Clercq & Friends
Soul Safari 