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In our opening session we present a conversation between contemporary musicians who actively draw on the archive to directly inform their music and artist practice, along with audio pieces from each participant. With: Neo Muyanga, Asher Gamedze, Masello Montana and Nhlanhla Ngqaqu (iPhupho L’ka Biko).
Neo Muyanga is a composer, theorist and activist who is engaged in a multi-focal exploration of protest music that spans from how protest songs played a key role in South Africa’s liberation to the role of liberation music in Egypt, Brazil and Uruguay.
Asher Gamedze is a cultural worker operating as a musician, student, writer, organiser and educator. His debut album Dialectic Soul blends free-jazz excursions with South African protest music.
Masello Motana is an actress, performer and vocal historian who collects, preserves and interprets South African music. Her on-going project Ntyilo Ntyilo, is a vocal museum and live show that performatively archives South African politics through music.
Nhlanhla Ngqaqu is a musician, and founding member of the band iPhupho L’ka Biko, that came to prominence during the Fees Must Fall protests of 2015. The groups’ sound draws on tradition, spiritual sounds, jazz and improvisation, with the politics of the day, to express their ideas about identity, change and community.