Enjoying a long stretch of coast on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Republic of South Africa is a southern African country. It is widely known for being home to many cultural influences including European and native African, and its musical culture represents this. There are both popular and folk forms of music in South Africa. This article will look at some of the different kinds of music that have put it on the map musically.
The local talent of South Africa was first brought to the world's attention by the Christian missionaries, who also first brought formal musical training to the country. The musician that wrote the national anthem 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' ("God Bless Africa") was one of these first musicians. By the turn of the 20th century South African cities like Cape Town became bug enough to attract foreign musicians, such as the American ragtime players.
Among the most important musical traditions in South Africa is jazz music, with names such as Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler and Jonas Gwangwa involved. There were, roughly speaking, two kinds of jazz in the 1960s here. One was the popular dance kind, represented by bands such as Elite Swingsters, and the other was the avant-garde John Coltrane-esque kind. John Mehegan was an American pianist who gathered some of the best jazz musicians of South Africa in 1959 and organised a recording session, creating Africa's first two jazz LPs.
Another popular form of music in South Africa is Kwaito. This is a new genre that was developed in Johannesburg in the late 90s. It is a popular form of dance music among the young black peoples of the country. Its sound is that of house music, combined with African sounds, and its distinctively slow tempo has lead it to be described by the famous producer Diplo as "slowed-down garage music".
Supposedly linked to the freedom from Apartheid, the last ten years or so has seen a resurgence in popularity for Afrikaans music. The sheer amount of influences in the South African music scene are too numerous to give an exhaustive account of, but what is clear is that it is, musically speaking, and incredibly rich and varied place.
The local talent of South Africa was first brought to the world's attention by the Christian missionaries, who also first brought formal musical training to the country. The musician that wrote the national anthem 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' ("God Bless Africa") was one of these first musicians. By the turn of the 20th century South African cities like Cape Town became bug enough to attract foreign musicians, such as the American ragtime players.
Among the most important musical traditions in South Africa is jazz music, with names such as Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler and Jonas Gwangwa involved. There were, roughly speaking, two kinds of jazz in the 1960s here. One was the popular dance kind, represented by bands such as Elite Swingsters, and the other was the avant-garde John Coltrane-esque kind. John Mehegan was an American pianist who gathered some of the best jazz musicians of South Africa in 1959 and organised a recording session, creating Africa's first two jazz LPs.
Another popular form of music in South Africa is Kwaito. This is a new genre that was developed in Johannesburg in the late 90s. It is a popular form of dance music among the young black peoples of the country. Its sound is that of house music, combined with African sounds, and its distinctively slow tempo has lead it to be described by the famous producer Diplo as "slowed-down garage music".
Supposedly linked to the freedom from Apartheid, the last ten years or so has seen a resurgence in popularity for Afrikaans music. The sheer amount of influences in the South African music scene are too numerous to give an exhaustive account of, but what is clear is that it is, musically speaking, and incredibly rich and varied place.
