Wednesday 12 November 2008

Afrikaners Is Plesierig

There are very few South-African songs to be found on the internet, which is a shame because generally the singers are very good. Of course the audience is narrowed down by the fact that the lyrics are often in a rather niche Dutch dialect, but many are not (it is after all a very multilingual country) so I am endevouring to change this state of affairs.
The songs I'll be adding will mostly be in English, but I'm sure I'll add plenty in Afrikaans too, since they are very beautiful in nature.
First up - Johannes Kerkorrel En Sy Gereformeerde Blues Band (Johannes Kerkorrel And His Reformed Blues Band)
An anti-Apartheid band from the 80s, this group's music was banned by the government and the tapes were for some time only available on the black market.
Eet Kreef! is a near-faultless album covering genres from straight-up rock and roll (Ossewa) to ballads (Hillbrow and Ou Ou Lied Van Afrika), this is an untapped source of protest-rock known to very few outside of the Afrikaner community. Probably the strangest track on the album is BMW, which while probably indulging most of all the songs in heavy satire is almost post-rock-like in its execution - the sounds of passing cars are created through the instruments and the heavy, dark beat underpins the very serious message found in the lyrics, about unfairness and class and race conflict.
Unfortunately Johannes Kerkorrel committed suicide in 2002.

Now for something more modern, I turn to my favourite Lienka song,
The Muse and Karen Zoid's Pleased To Meet Me. Two very different female artists, Zoid is definitely in the rock mold while Lienka tends more towards the female singer-songwriter genre. Hearsay tell me Zoid personifies that musician's fairy story - she was a busker in South Africa who got noticed and offered a contract.

Johannes Kerkorrel En Sy Gereformeerde Blues Band - Sit Dit Af

Johannes Kerkorrel En Sy Gereformeerde Blues Band - Hillbrow

Johannes Kerkorrel En Sy Gereformeerde Blues Band - Ou Ou Lied Van Afrika

Johannes Kerkorrel En Sy Gereformeerde Blues Band - BMW

Lienka -
The Muse
Karen Zoid - Pleased To Meet Me

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