ILAM pop-up DJ sets, Music
Venue: Rhodes Theatre Department
Next performance: 4 July 18:00
By Gcina Ntsaluba
An innovative blend of preservation and performance – the International Library of African Music (ILAM) at Rhodes University – is breathing new life into its historic collection through pop-up DJ events that transform rare vintage records into contemporary musical experiences.
The unique project, known as ILAM pop-up DJ Sets features original records and vinyl from the 1950s and 1960s – hailing from music that was once the soundtrack of South Africa’s pre-apartheid cultural landscape but has rarely been heard by modern audiences.
“The special thing is definitely to DJ back the music that is here in ILAM,” explains Dr Elijah Madiba, the digitising manager of ILAM. “People must hear these things.”
A Treasure Trove of Forgotten Sounds
The archive houses an extraordinary collection of approximately thousands of records, including both commercial releases from small South African record labels that championed black music during a pivotal era.
These independent labels – including Drum Records, True Tone, and others – were pushing for township jazz, kwela, and other genres that larger record companies often overlooked.
“You have this history and ethnomusicology, popular music,” says Dr Markus Coester, an anthropologist specialising in African music, who has been working on the project since 2022. “The music is really nice, interesting.”
The collection includes recordings made by Hugh Tracey, ILAM’s founder, who not only collected music but also worked directly with record labels like Gallo Records. Some recordings he produced himself, while others are commercial records he collected over decades of fieldwork.
International Collaboration
The pop-up events are part of a larger international research initiative called “Beyond the Digital Return” which focuses on transforming archives and decolonising heritage collections. The project connects the University of Bayreuth in Germany with Rhodes University and involves scholars and practitioners from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya.
“That’s about transforming archives, about new heritage, decolonisation of archives,” explains the German researcher, whose journey to African music began with early encounters with Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat in the 1980s and later led to research on Highlife music in West Africa.
Community Engagement
The project has previously collaborated with young local DJs and poets from Joza township in Makhanda, creating new dialogues between archival materials and contemporary artists. This approach reflects the project’s commitment to understanding how historical music collections can remain relevant to current communities.
Now in its third year, the pop-up DJ events continue to offer rare opportunities to experience South African musical heritage through the authentic medium of vintage turntables and original pressings – a fusion of historical and contemporary presentation that brings the past into conversation with the present.
The project represents more than entertainment; it’s a form of cultural archaeology that uses the DJ booth as an excavation site, unearthing musical gems that might otherwise remain silent in archival storage.
