In Sounding the Cape Denis-Constant Martin sets about exploring the variety of musical genres which have contributed to the sounds of the music in the Western Cape of South Africa. Martin begins this quest in the first two chapters by summarising arguments on music and identity and on music and cultural hybridity or creolisation, defined as ‘the coming into contact of several cultures, or at least several elements of distinct cultures, in one particular place in the world, which results in a new phenomenon, totally unpredictable in relationship with the sum or only the synthesis of these elements’ (Glissant, cited, p. 129). As expected, in this section of the book Martin argues that music is an integral part of our identities and that Cape Town's ‘musics’ bear testament to a legacy of creolisation. Martin contends that for centuries Cape Town has been a ‘melting pot of music’ (p. 128), reflecting a wide variety of cultures. He then proceeds, in the second (and longer) section of the book, to provide a fascinating history of the music of the Western Cape, with a strong focus on colonial times including apartheid and the post-1994 era.
Sounding the Cape reminds one of how racialised the development of music in South Africa has been but, despite attempts by colonial and apartheid governments to keep people of different races separate, how music has nevertheless developed through ongoing creolisation between all groups within South Africa. Martin weaves together a fascinating and generally well-researched social history of music in the Cape Town area, which will be of interest to researchers both familiar with and new to the South African context.
Chapters 3 and 4 provide a detailed look at music during the apartheid era, unpacking some of the structures used by the apartheid government to keep musicians apart and to stifle and control their productivity, while showing how music continually drew people together. In Chapter 5 Martin provides an overview of developments since 1994, and then draws the themes of the book together in Chapter 6 and the conclusion. Clearly, creolisation is a never-ending process and evidence to this effect is provided throughout the book. In an attempt to end on a constructive note, Martin argues that the importance of music in bringing people together emphasises its usefulness as an educational tool, and urges educators to place greater emphasis on the incorporation of music education in South Africa, particularly at the school level. This section is fairly rhetorical and dry, and lacks the animation of the central chapters. As commendable as this positive conclusion is, it seems misplaced at the end of a book which has as its strongest point the development of musical sounds and influences in a particular geographic, political and social setting.
Overall there is indeed a need for tighter coherence around the central theme – of sounds of the Cape and for more in-depth treatment of all genres considered in the book. The book ambitiously attempts to cover all areas of music found in the Western Cape, including music by Christmas choirs, langarm bands, vocal groups, big bands, Malay Choirs, Klopse carnival musicians (Cape Minstrels), Qasidah bands and moppies, military marching band music, art music, opera, marabi, African jazz, kwela, boeremusiek, ‘pop’ and rock music, rap, marimba, musicals and contemporary gospel. Those familiar with Denis-Constant Martin's previous work on Cape Town's ‘coon carnivals’ will not be surprised by his deft coverage of ghoema-influenced music, originating in the period of slavery. It seems that this was the genesis of this project and that other areas of music explored were added (unevenly) to this earlier project. As a result, the coverage of Cape minstrel music is very detailed and integrally tied to the Western Cape whereas analysis of other music, especially white folk/pop/rock/punk/ska and African neo-traditional music relies heavily on the music and social histories of other areas of South Africa and is not always covered with sufficient depth to warrant inclusion as ‘sounds of the Cape’. In this sense additional research could have been undertaken, interviewing musicians and exploring music related to areas such as folk, pop, rock and rap. There are a host of folk, pop, rock and rap musicians who were not included and whose absence leaves a disappointing silence. These include Cape Town based musicians like McCully's Workshop, The Usual, the Dynamics, Godessa, Edi Niederlander, Karin Rutter, the Lancaster Band, Half Price and many of the musicians associated with the Stellenbosch Trippy Grape label.
The analysis would also have benefited from a stronger focus on resistant music venues such as Scratch, The Joseph Stone, St Francis, the Obs Community Hall and Mitchell's Plain Civic, where inspiring community musical exchanges took place during the apartheid era. Research on and interviews with these musicians about their experiences and these venues would have provided a richer account of the music with which they are associated, from folk to progressive rock, pop, rock, punk, ska and rap. Had the book been about creolisation in South African music more generally, there would have been greater justification for the inclusion of musicians not at all associated with the Cape as Martin has chosen to do in places. In fact the title of the book is somewhat confusing – Martin seems to focus on the Western Cape, yet often refers specifically to Cape Town, and he certainly doesn't include the entire Cape, consisting of three provincial areas.
Martin's use of interview material is often powerful, evoking the times he writes about, in particular his lengthy ‘interlude’ interview with Vincent Kolbe which, for a while, allows one of the subjects to speak, rather than simply being written about. The only problem with this approach is that Martin tends to quote people uncritically and unquestioningly, without corroboration, which can leave the reader questioning the accuracy of the quote, or wishing a further question had been asked. Just one such example is when Martin quotes Bertie Coetzee as saying that: ‘All the bands are playing together in Cape Town. English bands are playing with Afrikaans bands, and you get Afrikaans blues bands playing with English ska bands. So I think everyone is influencing each other, and I think the only difference is language’ (p. 341). If this quote is going to be at all useful as evidence for musical collaboration, Martin needed to ask Coetzee who these bands are and to explain where and how they play together. But this does not happen.
There are many occasions where a lack of attention to detail detracts from an otherwise important documentation of musical processes. I have a particular interest in music censorship so was troubled to come across errors and vague statements on the topic which lack clarification. For example, Martin claims (on p. 151) that ‘several’ Kalahari Surfers albums were banned when in fact only one (Bigger than Jesus) was banned. He goes on to claim (on p. 166) that it was ‘forbidden to play’ ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika' in the late 1980s but he does not say where it could not be played. According to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) censor Cecile Pracher, the SABC did not place restrictions on playing the tune, but Martin does not seem to know this. He states (on p. 157) that David Kramer's Bakgat alum was banned, when in fact he should have made it clear that it was banned from airplay on SABC, but not banned more generally. In censorship terms, reference to being banned in South Africa only applies to censorship carried out by the central South African censorship board, not to the SABC. In fact, Martin's looseness with describing restrictions placed on music by different bodies leads to confusion. It is not clear what the difference is between ‘banned’ ‘embargoed’ and ‘forbidden’, terms which he uses interchangeably.
There is also a tendency to simplify issues and not to specifically locate different historical moments, which is problematic in apartheid South Africa with laws and situations changing regularly. For example, when referring to Juluka, Martin notes that ‘whenever they were together, Sipho Mchunu and Johnny Clegg infringed the law’ (p. 155). This overstates the problem. It was illegal for them to be together in certain areas and at particular times, particularly in the 1970s, and while it was strictly forbidden for them to perform together in the 1970s, by the 1980s this was no longer illegal.
A few factual errors creep into the book, also detracting from the overall quality. It is claimed (on p. 232) that in the 1960s Sipho Mabuse could only listen to international pop and rock on Radio 5, yet that station was launched in 1975. Martin claims that the first Genuines album was Mr Mac and the Genuines, when in fact this was the group's second album. It is stated (on p. 259) that Mountain Records was created in 1998, when in fact it was established in 1980.
There are a few typing errors and, most frustratingly, the endnotes for one of the chapters are out of sequence, so it is difficult to cross-reference as intended. These errors and the imbalance of the book are unfortunate because this is otherwise an important contribution to research on music and creolisation and on South African music in particular.
