Television: Hazel Friedman
DOLLY RATHEBE and her evergreen Inkspots, George Lee=20 singing the Ghana blues and The Radio Rats — South=20 Africa’s quintessential rock band — articulating the angst=20 of a generation over boiled eggs and Spring rolls. This is=20 just a sample of what you can expect to see from May 18 to=20 September 7, when NNTV broadcasts a 17-part series=20 showcasing the diversity of South African music in all=20 languages and musical styles.
During the last year, Ansie Kamffer, NNTV’s programme=20 planner for music and culture, commissioned independent=20 directors from around the country — among them Lisa=20 Brittan, Duma Ndlovu, John Matshikiza, David Jammy, Jurgen=20 Schadeberg, Theo Antoniou, Mark Radomsky and John Bowey –=20 to explore the rich timbres of our musical heritage through=20 the eyess and ears of local musicians.=20
Each documentary provides a glimpse into the biographies,=20 babelaases and of course, the music of South Africa’s=20 unsung heroes — from self-taught guitarist Jimmy Dludlu,=20 “desert dreamer” Koos Kombuis and Boere revolutionaries=20 Johannes Kerkorrel and Bernoldus Niemand, to Sankomota, the=20 Soweto String Quartet and Nothembi, the Ndebele Queen of=20
Underlying the entertainment value of this series is a long=20 overdue attempt to redress the anomalies that have plagued=20 South Africa’s music industry for decades. In another=20 country, talents such as marabi queen Dorothy Masuka and=20 musical director Denzil Weale would have been feted and=20
But in South Africa they were blocked by the biltong=20 curtain, abused by record companies that refused to promote=20 their music and radio stations that denied them access to=20 the airwaves or clumped them into separate cultural camps.=20 Many have had to be discovered by another country before=20 they received their dues from the South African broadcast=20
As Dludlu recalls: “I dreamt I was up on stage, wearing a=20 white suit and playing my guitar. The crowd was so huge=20 that I knew it wasn’t here in South Africa.”
But, hopefully, that situation will soon change,=20 particularly in light of the recent findings of the=20 Independent Broadcast Association on an airplay quota for=20 South African music. Although local content policy has not=20 yet been set in stone for television, the NNTV series will=20 break new ground in redressing the legacy of a country too=20 long starved of access to the rich, diverse and unashamedly=20 eclectic timbres of its musical heritage.=20
So anyone who feels justified in bad-mouthing South African=20 music should settle down, switch on the television and=20 prepare to eat their words.
The series will be broadcast on NNTV every Thursday at 9pm