Michelle Matthews
‘Die mees sentrale fi-guur in ons volk se geskiedenis is Paul Kruger. Egter nie slegs man van die verlede nie, hy is ook en wel, bowe alles, man van die toekoms. Soek in die verlede, so het hy ges, dit wat goed en skoon is, en bou daarop jou toekoms,” intones DF Malan over a hypnotic trance beat.
The musicians involved in Transmissie, an Afrikaans rave taking place in Melkbos on December 17, are taking their past into the future. Transmissie’s mission statement declares a cultural paradigm shift, in synch with contemporary Afrikaners. “Today’s young Afrikaans people would rather be at a rave than at an Afrikaans art or music festival. With Transmissie we’re planning a multimedia happening that will put Afrikaans in a whole new context.”
Transmissie is about Afrikaans speakers acknowledging and appropriating their history. The chipping away at the kultuur monolith which had been taking place for decades intensified in the early Nineties forming the (unofficial) “alternatiewe Afrikaner” movement. There was public introspection by Afrikaners from Rian Malan to Antjie Krog, who vacillated apologetically between self-loathing and cultural patriotism. Bitterkomix burst forth taking one of Afrikanerdom’s most cherished tales, the battle of Blood River, and plunging the Boer victors into hell. Valiant Swart sang satirically about a Holy Grail-like search for the illusive “mystic boer”. It was a decade of profound examination of the dark side of Afrikaner identity.
At the end of the century the Transmissie ous can afford to be more light-hearted, accepting and rejoicing in a past that is no longer a burden. “It’s about not being in denial,” explains DJ Opperman, the main house/trance DJ. He mixes old and new with a healthy sense of humour. One track has famous rugby commentator, Gerard Viviers, screaming to his frenzied climax over a relentlessly escalating house beat. His impassioned howl of “Hy druk sy drie!” echoes over the plateau of the track. The cry sounds simultaneously powerful and ridiculous. DJ Opperman’s sampling is both a deconstruction and an affirmation.
DJ Opperman uses snippets of Liewe Heksie stories, politician’s speeches and old FAK songs. He puts on his “predikantstem” for a live reading of Raka, NP van Wyk Louw’s ironic epic about “die aap-mens, hy wat nie kan dink, wat swart en donker is”. He tells me he’s planning a remixed retrospective of G Korsten’s songs, sampling liedjies, tongue-in-cheek, from his album Sonder Jou.
Transmissie has more than trance to offer. Gramadoelas plays “psychedelic vastrap”, funky sakkie-sakkie that begs for some spirited lang-arm. Gramadoelas frontman Alex van Heerden teams up with Brydon Bolton of Benguela in ELX, a live drum’n’bass duo. This is dance music made while you move, with Bolton creating sounds from didgeridoo to synthesiser through his double bass, while Van Heerden funks it up with his trumpet, beat box and theremin. A theremin is a spiral of wire which produces modulated feedback and is “played” in a way which is probably best described as Reiki drumming.
Traditionally, white Afrikaners went to extreme lengths to seperate themselves from other Afrikaans speakers, in denial of the fact that the “kombuistaal” that they were using as the vehicle of their nationalism was first spoken by traders and slaves. All Afrikaans speakers celebrate the taal at Transmissie. Brasse vannie Kaap rap the vowel-heavy Afrikaans of the Cape Flats with skillful scratcher Ready D on the decks. Their high-energy B-boy act is legendary. DJ Overdose plays the taal with a township beat, a “kwaai ou” spinning Afrikaans kwaito.
Visuals are provided by a VJ who’ll juxtapose images from the Seventies futuristic puppet show Interster with rugby games, bits of Ipitombi, footage of infamous National Party leaders and other cultural iconography. The premiere of Fobofobie: Die Vrees om Bang te Wees, a short film by MJ Louwrens, promises to have festivalgoers watching compulsively.
Transmissie, DJ Opperman tells me, means both communication and shifting gear, using the old language in new ways. Van Heerden adds, “And it’s about not being ashamed to have a good time.” Afrikaans is progressive, not oppressive, say the rave’s organisers. Transmissie is out to prove the old FAK adage: “Afrikaners is plesierig.” It’s going to be a lekker jol.
Transmissie is billed as the after party of the Melkbos Arts Festival. The doors to the venue, Barn Celos in Melkbosstrand, open at 7pm on December 17. Tickets at R60 per person are available through Ticketweb or at the door. For more information , call Manie at 083 449-1865 or Gilda at 082 472- 6414