In the spring of my Junior year (2010), I spent a semester in Cape Town, South Africa. This is the collection of thoughts, writings, and photos from my trip.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
If you’ve slept on these two, it’s time to get familiar. Odds are, at this point, you are unable to avoid hearing of them: their viral youtube videos, their performance at Coachella, and their recently-acquired hipster fame.
Die Antwoord is an Afrikaans duo (their name translates to “The Answer”) from just outside of Cape Town, and they’re pretty amusing. It’s “Zef Rave,” which basically means it’s trashy rap-rave music. But that’s the thing: it’s pretty damn self-aware. Family friends in Cape Town told me that when they met these two on the street they were two of the most normal, nice, people they’ve met. Would you ever know it from the videos or the music? Probably not. Turns out the MC “Ninja” has been involved in a number of other projects, most of which are much less outrageous (apparently – given my internet costs, I can’t really afford to verify that).
Their album $O$ should be available somewhere out there on the internet (and trust me, it’s pretty good). Check their website if you want to know more.
Oh, and a note on terminology. Bru = Bro. Dagga = Weed. Wat kyk jy = What are you looking at?
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
There are so many stories from Cape Town that I’ve never written down. I’m not quite sure as to why, maybe Twitter is really getting all of my scoops. Hopefully I can start to remedy that over the next month or so. I want to share stories from my travels to Lesotho, my DJing on Long Street, and my mugging just a few blocks from my house. There are more stories that will emerge in time, observations too. Some of them may not hit me for months to come.
Personality change is an interesting thing. When you’re the one changing, how do you know? Have I changed since I’ve been here? In what way? I can’t feel it, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening. Whenever I tell people where I am this semester, they always tell me how incredible an experience it is, how much it will change me, what an amazing new perspective I will come back with. These people are not wrong, but from here it’s hard to tell if they are right.
I have seen so much since I’ve been here – beautiful mountains, fast sports cars, and shanty towns as far as the eye can see. But where some people seem shocked, changed, spurred into action, it has confirmed what I have always known: the world can be a deeply unfair place, and the ugliness of the world (poverty, racism, crime, etc) is far from gone. Not to say that it hasn’t furthered my own desire to work for change, but it hasn’t shocked me in the way that it seems to for some.
I don’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I am often self-conscious about my lack of radicalization. People tell me how shocked they are, how much it’s “opened their eyes.” On the other hand, I think to myself, really? They weren’t aware that there were deeply-seated economic inequalities? That people live without running water or regular electricity? What kind of rock do they live under? And are they going to care once they get back to their nice cozy existence in the US?
I find myself thinking a little too much like Holden Caulfield these days, with all these implications of phonies. It’s not that I disparage their efforts and outrage, I just don’t think it will last. One of the things I respect about them is their willingness to get involved, but I worry that it is only short-term. Maybe that’s where the difference really lies – though my reaction isn’t outrage, so much as it’s grim acknowledgement, I want to spend my life working to affect positive change. I want to harness my skills and work with an NGO or policy group with healthy goals, not sit work for a corporation that is determined to make a profit at any cost.
Sometimes I worry that my stated career goals become an excuse not to get involved in the present. I fear that I will stay involved only through “work,” and my job now is to prevent that from happening.
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
I finished this mix one up a few months ago, but I wanted to make sure I was happy with it. Yes, it’s 128kbps. When you pay as much per mb as I do for internet, maybe you’ll understand. It’s a pretty laidback feel – some jazzy stuff, some disco-y stuff, but all things that you can “lounge” to. I wanted to include some hip-hop, but honestly it just wasn’t sitting right. I’ll be recording part 2 at some point, though, and expect some Guru Jazzmatazz tracks in there (RIP).
I made this tape because 1) I’ve always wanted to make a lounge/downtempo tape, and 2) There’s a particular bar that always evokes this kind of feeling in me and the endless beaches only add to the fire.
Ezra Mechaber – Loungin Electric [mp3]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tracklist:
- Jorge Ben – Take It Easy, My Brother Charles
- Bitter:Sweet – Our Remains
- Etro Anime – Forgotten Love
- Frou Frou – Breathe In
- Kings of Convenience – I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (Mojib remix)
- Lemon Jelly – His Majesty King Raam
- Keenhouse – Air-es (Hemingway’s Starlight Yacht Remix)
- Samantha James – I Found You (feat. Celso Fonseca)
- Soul Clap & Aaliyah – Rock The Boat
- Munk – Down In LA (Shazam Remix)
- Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream (Treasure Fingers remix)
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Hey guys, that time again – I’m starting off a party at Fiction hosted by the duo Blush n Bass. You should all be there, because who doesn’t love some craaaazy disco house?
Totally unrelated: Check out Usher/Will.i.am’s “Oh My God.” Kind of weird and unexpected, but definitely a great track.
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
So in Cape Town (as well as most of the world), minibus taxis are the way people get around. For the uninitiated, the minibusses must seem like a terrifying proposition – you cram into a tiny bus with 20 other people, or so. Just you, passengers who invariably have too many bags, the fare collector, and the crazy driver. Parts of the van are invariably broken, just hope it isn’t the window. Seatbelts? Forget it. AC? You wish. Pounding kwaito music and death-defying speeds? Oh yes. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to catch a talk about politics in english, so you can even pick up a little bit of local culture.
But anyway. Apparently the really colorfully decorated cabs with the really loud subwoofers are connected to sound systems. “No kidding,” you might say, “That’s how you play music.” No, no, my friend. I mean a sound system, with DJs and whatnot. Oh yes. And they have the craziest music – heavy bass, spacey drums, blaring synths, and amazing zulu hooks. Apparently they organize drag races/raves every once in a while.
While I don’t have the stones to track down a taxibus rave, I do have the stones to try and swap music with the drivers. The plan: make mixtapes, hand them to the driver, and convince them to hand me over their cd. The mix I put together is all heavy bass, some club rhythms, etc. Stuff that is similar to their cds in idea but totally different in execution. In other words, some hectic driving music. And now I present to you…
Ezra Mechaber – Traffic Jams [mp3 download]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tracklist:
- The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa [French Fries remix]
- Major Lazer – Pon De Floor
- French Fries – Saurus Rhythm
- Them Jeans – Flying Rats
- Tonka – Ready For War
- AC Slater – Jack Got Jacked [Jack Beats remix]
- Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi [Kingdom remix]
- Young Punx – Juice And Gin
- Designer Drugs – Back Up In This [B. Rich remix]
- Jack Beats – Get Down [VIP edit]
- Math Head – Turn The Music Up [AC Slater remix]
- Emalkay – When I Look At You
- Damien Marley – So It Was Written [Chasing Shadows remix]
- Basement Jaxx – Feeling’s Gone [Rusko remix]
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Devil’s Peak, part of Cape Town’s central mountain range, sits right next to Table Mountain. It’s a pretty steep climb – takes a while to climb, and apparently ought to require a waiver for the hike. The peak, along with Table Mountain, is often shrouded in thick, fluffy clouds. There’s a great little story about how it got it’s name, as well as why it’s so cloudy. Here it is:
Jan van Hunks, a prodigious pipe smoker, lived at the foot of the mountain around 1700. He was forced by his wife to leave the house whenever he smoked his pipe, given the amount he liked to smoke. One day, while smoking his pipe on the slopes of the peak, he met a mysterious stranger. They each bragged of how much they smoked and so they fell into a pipe-smoking contest. They smoked all day, and all night, covering the whole mountain in the tablecloth cloud that has stuck around even today. Van Hunks finally won the contest, and learned that the stranger he had beaten was, in fact, the Devil.
Friday, March 19th, 2010
I’m headed to Lesotho for a few days to go pony-trekking through Lesotho. Pictures and stories as soon as I’m back.
Edit: Pictures are up
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Hiked up Table Mountain, this was the view on the way up.
Up near the top we had a chance to go caving.
On our way down we hung out by the docks, eating fish and chips.
Hung out in Camps Bay for an afternoon.
Visuals for the Goldfish concert we saw at Kirstenbosch Gardens.
V&A Waterfront for dinner.
It got dark and I got artsy.
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Are harder to write in a foreign country. My work ethic is shot right now (but rest assured, future employers currently googling me, it’ll be back once I’m in the states).
Anyway, I’m in the middle of writing a history paper due tomorrow, so after I’m done I’ll post up stories and long-overdue photos.
If you’re looking for something to do, I suggest checking out Cosmo Baker’s “Feeling Good” mix and DeciBelle’s “Sweet Nothings” mix. Both are real funky and definitely worth your time.
Monday, March 8th, 2010
I know this is the first update in a while, and I do apologize. I’ve been busy burning in the African sun, and generally being a waste of life. Here’s a list of the things I’ve been up to recently.
1) Surfing
I hadn’t been since 7th grade, and I forgot how fun/hard it is! My housemates and I took a Saturday about two weeks ago to spend all day at the beach and give surfing a shot. We got up early – 8am is early to those of us under 25 – made some breakfast and some strong coffee, and headed off. We took the metro rail – wait, that requires some explanation, timeout.
The Metro Rail is Cape Town’s rail system – it’s all above ground and runs through the center of the city all the way out to the suburbs. It comes in two flavors, Metro and Metro Plus. Metro Plus is kind of like business class, except the tickets only cost about $0.80 anyway. Safety is too much to ask from public transit in South Africa at the moment – I wouldn’t ride it alone, and certainly not at night. Security is tighter for the World Cup (which yes, everyone is crazy about), but no sense in being reckless. The trains can also get pretty packed – I think I may have posted this before, but youtube Cape Town’s “metro surfing” for an idea of how some people get around here.
Anywayyyy, we took the metro out to Muizenberg, a great beach about 30 or 40 min outside of Cape Town. It’s the Indian Ocean. That’s right, I’ve now been in 3 oceans. Big stuff. The water is much colder in the Atlantic, so everyone tends to just go to Muizenberg for the warmer water. We rented a few surfboards to split between us, and got cracking. It is hard, and exhausting. Maneuvering on a surfboard is cumbersome if you’re not used to it, and I wiped pretty often. After a few hours in the water, I was exhausted and I had ingested way too much salt water for my own good. I managed to get up a few times, hopefully I’ll give it another shot before I head back to the US. I might just stick to bodyboarding, though, such an easier/more entertaining activity.
2) Pride Cape Town
Cape Town just had Gay Pride week, and this past Saturday was the Pride Parade. It’s the biggest pride event in Africa. When we saw the small size of the parade, my housemate reminded me – we’re in Africa. “Biggest parade on the continent” is all relative when you remember that gays may face the death penalty in Uganda and gay marriage (or just being gay) is off the table in most countries.
Regardless, a fun time was had by all. The parade was pretty solid, and we just hung out at a gay bar all day – my housemates were dismayed to learn that gay bar bartenders are almost universally straight. Apparently to keep their minds on their jobs and not other things. I actually had to dip out early in the afternoon, because…
3) DJing on UCT Radio
I met a guy at a party a few weeks back, and he happened to DJ. He had a friend, who DJ’d on the radio. Call sign? 104.5 UCT Radio Maximum Respect. Apparently people listen to college radio here. Anyway, he’s got this Saturday 6pm to 9pm slot and has been doing the show for quite a few years. It’s mostly really really groovy deep/soulful/jackin house. The sound of South African electronic music is unreal.
Well, anyway, I was invited to show up last week and hang out in the studio. Short story even shorter, I got invited back for this past Saturday to do a set. Played a little american pop, but quickly worked into some heavy bass and indie/disco/filter house. It was a great way to spend an afternoon, minus the fact that it was 80 DEGREES IN THE STUDIO. SO SWELTERING. No fans, vents, etc.
4) Goldfish Live @ Kirstenbosch
Kirstenbosch is a botanical garden at the foot of Table Mountain. It is so surreally beautiful. They throw concerts in the summer, kind of like Tanglewood but cooler. Today was the sold-out Goldfish show. Goldfish? Ah, yes. Two guys who play house music live with a 909, a few synths, an upright bass, a few saxophones, and a flute. It is exactly as good as it sounds. I first saw them at beach-club La Med a month ago, and both shows have been a lot of fun. They’re so well respected and liked by South Africa, the entire crowd was cheering non-stop for 2 hours. Including the guy who climbed one of the speaker towers and danced on top of it.
I turned around to see what everyone was staring at, and there he was, 50 yards away, dancing on top of a 20ft speaker tower. It was both hilarious and frightening – I kept waiting for him to fall. Finally Goldfish stopped the music, had him climb on down, and they started up again.
I highly suggest youtubing their song Fort Knox. It made for a great evening, just relaxing to great music surrounded by the Kirstenbosch gardens.
I’ve got some pictures to throw up, and some more updates to throw out (I’ll be Pony Trekking in Lesotho in a week and I want to hike Table Mountain for sunset). I’ve also got a few more DJing gigs in the works at some of the really great venues around town. Should make for a good few months.