Opening the show with a dystopian urban groove are South Africa ‘s Kalahari Surfers and their special guest, Lesego Rampolokeng, the Sowetan dub poet inspired by Keats, Gil Scott-Heron and the street poets he heard as a young man.
Joining them are Oumou Sangaré, one of the biggest stars in Mali, and Benin’s Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, the undisputed heavyweights of voodoo rock, with this being their first tour of Britain after 45 years together.
Background of the Kalahari Surfers
Formed in 1982, the Kalahari Surfers was essentially a string of studio projects realised by Warrick Sony at Shifty Studios during the 80’s.
Sony, a white South African, and one of the country’s foremost musicians, has become known for his electronic mix of dub rhythm, punk aesthetic and social comment on life both under apartheid and in its wake and has ensured that the Kalahari Surfers’ relevance has grown over time. The quarter century since their debut album has seen them banned, censored and persecuted at home, yet built a following in Leningrad, East Berlin and western Europe.
In 1984 the first full album ‘Own Affairs’ was completed at Shifty Studios and taken to EMI to press. On the grounds that it was too politically sensitive, EMI refused to press it thereby censoring the work before it was made. Radical far left British label Recommended Records pressed it and set up an alliance that continues to this day. In 1985 they put out ‘Living In The Heart Of The Beast’ to critical acclaim.
The mixture of dub rhythms and hard punk social comment made it a unique South African album which pushed the barriers of local independent music. Musical styles ranged from the avant garde to straight rock. Quite Zappa-ish in places with the use of tape splice edits and juxtaposing diverse styles the album was a South African veiwpoint that provided some relief for those who didn’t like the Johnny Clegg-CatStevens-goes-zulu sound.
The need to tour was evident and Warrick moved to London to work on promoting the album. A third album ‘Sleep Armed’ was completed before leaving and released in 1986. The Kalahari Surfers were seen as far afield as Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Moscow, Lenningrad, Riga, East Berlin and London.
Back in South Africa during the late 80s the album ‘Bigger than Jesus’ was recorded and released locally and officially banned for distribution and possesion. After an appeal to the publications control board the ban was lifted and set a legal precedent.
The early 90’s saw a collaboration with Sowetan rebel poet Lesego Rampolokeng resulting in the album ‘End Beginnings’, which also took them on a tour of Brazil and France during the mid 90s. Lesego is the most powerful black voice to emerge from the 80s with his brain intact. A product of the lost generation who suffered detentions and beatings from our country’s notorious security forces. He is a rarity and fittingly teamed up with fellow nomads in the South African cultural wasteland.
Kalahari Surfers have been operating the Shifty Studio for a few years doing sound design, film music and various collaborative projects. A partnership with Brendan Jury resulted in an album under the name TransSky as well as a tour with Massive Attack last year.
Warrick has been busy working on various remix and producing projects at the Shifty Studio now based in Cape Town. A new Surfers album is expected early next year.