Produced for Spotify
Freedom Sounds: from Kwaito to AmaPiano
African music and dance nurtured, sustained and strengthened our centuries long war against colonial subjugation. Akin to its colonial antecedent, the Apartheid regime was constructed to ensure that our bodies were contained and experiences controlled, our life force extracted and directed toward servitude. Political, cultural and economic forms of resistance were built to spearhead a revolution, and music's intrinsic connection to the embodied experience made it a locality ripe for decolonial activity. Freedom songs, like Thina Sizwe (We the Africans) often sung in unison, hundred strong, profoundly nourished our political struggle. ⠀ ⠀ Kwaito music, a post-1994 phenomenon with its deep bass lines, catchy vocals and distinctive percussive and melodic samples, strove to, in the words of Kwaito legend @spikiri_mandla_reloaded, “massage” the psychological wounds of people who were recovering from this century-long battle. Roughly two decades later Amapiano, an expression of Gen Z creativity echoes the people's desire to not only heal but thrive. To be joyous together is to resist the omnipresent, intrusive and pervasive nature of white supremacy. To choose life and to choose to enjoy that life is a radical act. In the words of Amapiano star @youngstunna_rsa’s smash hit Adiwele, let it be so! ⠀ Kamva Collective’s creative duo Producer Amílcar Patel and Director Chris Kets @thisischriskets worked with Lindiwe Mngxitama @somethingwecantfindalone to create this Bubblegum Club production for Spotify’s commemoration of Freedom Day. Its worth checking out the full piece on Spotify’s home page.⠀ ⠀ ⠀
- Documentary DP
- Non-Fiction Film Director
- Video Editor - Documentary
- Senior Producer / Project Manager