South Africa has a history entrenched in conflict, as well as a rich musical diversity that is closely intertwined with it. These are some of the reasons the country was chosen to participate in the global, ongoing academic and music project Failed States // Creative Resistances.
Curated by locals and facilitated by punk rock anthropologist and Failed States lead researcher Jim Donaghey from Ulster University, the South African charter of the project has produced a compilation, More Than Hate City: South African Punk. It tells the story of where South Africa sits in contemporary life, and what its punk scene has to say to the rest of the world.
Punk in South Africa has taken on many different forms over the years, and that is reflected in the current state of the local scene, where genre fusion has become a mainstay. The compilation features punk bands and songs that encompass the diverse breadth of the South African experience, working as a marker for the different things punk can mean to different people.
Challenging the notion of what punk is — and who gets to define it — is a large part of why the compilation exists. As Donaghey explains, “The whole point is to have discussions in post-conflict nations that aren’t just researchers coming and asking questions.”
This is evident in the way the South African compilation is curated. Featuring Ganga Jaji and Lerato Orchestral Collective alongside acts like WORMS immediately complicates any straightforward definition of punk. On the curation, panel member Shaun Richards says, “It was a bunch of white people who rocked up in a room together and tried to represent the scene without failing entirely.”
The selection of songs spans themes ranging from mental illness to land reform and heartbreak. Focused on music released over the past two years, the compilation offers a snapshot of where the South African punk scene stands right now. Donaghey says, “The lack of sectarianism in the genres is something I’m not sure is unique to South Africa or Johannesburg, but it makes the compilation listenable.”
“These are punk scenes on the margins, what happens when you put them in conversation together.” The compilation, one attendee noted, made for a unique listening session. “It helps to challenge each other on what we believe punk is while engaging on pressing issues in our society.”
Now you might be wondering: where can you get the compilation? Copies were given away at the three listening sessions in Joburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, with some also going to the bands featured on it.
That the local punk scene was chosen to be part of this wider dialogue feels fitting. As the world looks at Sowetan punk through the lens of acts like Shameless, while bands like WORMS and Lefokolodi connect with fans through relatable writing, it is clear that the scene is thriving.
Dr Donaghey didn’t arrive at this place, at this time, by accident. The South African punk scene is diverse in race, class and gender, and that diversity is exactly what brings together such different sounds and experiences, making South Africa an ideal place to test what punk can still do: start a conversation.
All photographs by Gavin Pincus.
