Afro-Synth
Bio
Launched in 2009, Afro-Synth is a website dedicated to preserving South African popular music from the 1980s and early 1990s. It also features music from other African countries. The site has grown to become a definitive source of information on South African music back from the 1980s.
Its library primarily focusses on the South African popular genre known as the bubblegum or disco. It also covers other genres such as jazz, reggae, kwaito, mbaqanga and maskandi. The vast majority of this music is no longer available. Most record labels who released the music have long since shutdown or bought out by larger labels. Such music was never available in other countries owing to South Africa’s isolation during the apartheid era back in the 1980s. Apart from that, the local music industry survived during this time, with artists frequently selling thousands of albums enjoying a loyal following from music fans throughout Southern Africa.
The records listed on the website come from the record collection of Johannesburg-based DJ Okapi. The collection was assembled through old record stores, flea markets, junk stores or from private collections. DJ Okapi has managed to catalogue the production details of each album, short descriptions of the music, artist’s careers and cover art of each album.