Afro-tech: Stories of Synths in African Music

[APWW PGM #676] [Originally aired in 2013] Technology is one of the great drivers of musical change, and often one of its least understood. In this episode, we will explore the synthesizer, looking closely at the history of this ubiquitous (and often debated) piece of musical technology, and investigating how and why it was first used in a variety African musics. Enabled by groundbreaking reissues of synth pioneers like William Onyeabor (Nigeria) and Hailu Mergia (Ethiopia), disco stars like Kris Okotie, and South African bubblegum superstars like Brenda Fassie, we will take you back to the ’70s and ’80s, listening to the birth of a distinctly African electronic sound.