Kalahari Surfers – Own Affairs

One of the best discoveries of 2025: Own Affairs by Kalahari Surfers, recorded in 1984 on an 8-track recorder at Shifty Studios in Johannesburg – an abandoned caravan – and re-released this year on the French label Via Parigi. Musically, it is not far removed from the post-punk colorfulness of Family Fodder or the sample frenzy of Roger Doyle’s Operating Theatre, but in terms of content it is clearly more political. Warrick Sony, founder and only permanent member, used the band name as a pseudonym to protect himself from state repression and wove dub, punk, African and Indian rhythms as well as samples from political speeches, police radio and religious chants into a satirical, aesthetically impressive statement against apartheid. Almost a little radio play.