ATKV OESFEES 10TH ANNIVERSARY WORKERS SHINE
WITH any festival or event, a 10-year anniversary is very special. It shows longevity and popularity. The ATKV Oesfees being held on Saturday, March 25 at Solms Delta Wine Estate, 15km outside the picturesque town of Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands, is no exception.
The festival was created to celebrate the harvest and honour farmworkers by giving them a platform to perform their traditional music and dance.
Farm owner Mark Solms says: “I returned to South Africa from the UK in 2001 and took on the farm. Ten years ago we were researching the history of the farm and found that the workers were descended from slaves who came here with French-Huguenot settlers in the late 1600s.
“The workers have a fantastic musical background. There were still old people on the farm who knew traditional songs so we wanted to record, document and preserve the music culture and in doing so it sparked a pride in their Afrikaans musical roots”. Solms explains: “We and our neighbouring farm established the Wijn de Caab Trust to benefit the 200 historically disadvantaged residents and employees of the Solms-Delta Wine Estate and bought the adjoining farm for the workers which makes them landowners. We formed a partnership so the workers had a 33% share in Solms-Delta which recently became a 50-50 partnership”.
About 12 years ago the workers started a folk band and then a minstrel band (which now has 80 members). The ladies started a gospel band called “Delta Soetstemme” (Sweet Voices). Subsequently, the marching band formed a stage ensemble called “Die Laangbroekke” which means “Long Trousers” which shows they are serious about their music.
Solms says: “We have percussion, music and dance teachers and a songwriting teacher so they can all read and write music and make a living from performing.
“The workers have released CDs and have won Sama awards. ATKV Oesfees is an opportunity for people to experience the real Cape culture. All the profits from the festival go back into preserving that local music culture.
“Musically, thereare a variety of performances on the day including ‘Riel Dans’ which is a type of ‘vastrap’ or fast Afrikaans dance which dates back to pre-colonial times”.
Project manager of the Solms-Delta music heritage project for the last eight years is Adriaan Brand who is no stranger to the music scene as he is also a member of well-known South African rock group, Springbok Nude Girls.
Brand is closely involved with the show content at Oesfees. Brand says, “We’re trying to offer people an indigenous South African experience and Oesfees is all about sharing that with people of all cultures and backgrounds. It’s a celebration of an inclusive South African identity”. “Our main ‘on-farm’ act is the Delta Valley Entertainers in the form of a walking brass band in the traditional ‘Klopse’ style, which started out by taking songs from overseas and ‘vernacularising’ them.
“The troupe has performed at Franschhoek Bastille Festival and the Cape Town Carnival. They are opening Oesfees at 9.30am. The Klein Handjies Crèche will be performing at 9.50am as a choir and a ‘Riel dans’ troupe. We are really proud of them.”
Other acts to see are the Papier Family which Brand says have been performing on Solms-Delta since the 1930s, Hannes Coetzee, Manouche, Akkedis, Radio Kalahari Orkes, African Jazz Pioneers and Tribal Echo.
Nick Turner (ex-Sons Of Trout and Mikanic) is also on the line-up.
Turner says, “I have been working at Solms-Delta for six years on a community project called Music Van De Caab which focuses on preserving the rich and diverse musical heritage of the Cape rural music.
“I even include some of the ghoema and vastrap songs in my solo performances. I started out teaching guitar to the workers and their kids in the region and do music and song-writing workshops with them in the vernacular style. I also perform with them”.
Turner states, “The big act to see is Lekker-Lekker Delta which is a conglomeration of many of the acts and is going to be a fabulous and extraordinary thing to witness.”
Headlining ATKC Oesfees is Ladysmith Black Mambazo which now has 17 Grammy Award nominations and has received four Grammys to date. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960, is a male choral group that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya which is the traditional music of the Zulu people. Shabalala says,” In the 1960s I had a real dream of a singing group that I wanted to create.
“This dream led to the creation of my group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
We have represented our homeland of South Africa at many events, including accompanying Nelson Mandela to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, travelled the world so many times and most importantly, spread a message of peace, love and harmony to millions of people”. Event: ATKV Oesfees Where: Solms-Delta Wine Estate, Franschoek When: March 25
You can see all the info and line-up at www.oesfees.co.za.