How can music serve as an archive? The Frequency of Freedom brings together South African cultural practitioners and Dutch-based youth to explore Cape slave memorial traditions through the Nederlandse liedjies repertoire and the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade. 

Combining dialogue, collaborative heritage work, and performance, the project engages with histories that have often been absent from Dutch archives. During their visit to KITLV, participants will share their experiences through a public talk and live performance, highlighting the role of music in preserving and transmitting memories of the Cape's slave past.

Presenters

Wisaal Abrahams is a Capetonian curator, producer and community development coach. A Global Slavery Fellow of the International Institute of Social History and a Masters candidate of Visual Arts at Stellenbosch University, Wisaal uses world-building techniques to address nation-building issues that pertain to the forgotten people of South Africa.

A Capetonian Quintet:

Wazier Salie is a Cape Town–based drummer and comic singer from the Cape Flats. Passionate about music and entertainment, he combines energetic percussion, humor, and storytelling to create memorable performances within the cultural sphere. 

Abdu-Daiyaan Floris is a musician and vocalist who is part of multiple groups that perform shows, productions or spiritual remembrance. Known for his passion for cars and the ability to get people dancing with his groovy bass lines.

Rafeeq Domingo is a Nederlands Lied singer/ coach and runs a Thikr Jamaah, Al-Wāhda in Cape Town.  He owns the infamous "FreshCuts by Domingo" barber from his home in Salt River and is well known for his artistic direction and intimate knowledge of Cape Malay Culture.

Taurik "Tolla" Blignaut is a Cape Town-based community producer, musical director, stage manager, songwriter, and choir coach. He is best known as the producer of the award-winning boy band De Ja Vu and for his coaching and conducting work within the Kaapse Klopse and Cape Malay cultural industries. 

Ameen “Bruno” Hernandez is a singer, songwriter, music producer, composer, musical director, choir director and multiinstrumentalist artist from Cape Town South Africa, mostly known for his work with the Bayside Vocal Group which toured extensively in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Moderator

Amaal Salie is a PhD researcher at KITLV. She studied City Planning at the University of Cape Town and later completed a Master’s in Programme Evaluation. At KITLV, Amaal explores the foodways of the Indonesian diaspora in South Africa as part of the Trajectories of Taste project. Her research will focus on how culinary practices reflect adaptation, memory, and identity within transgenerational diasporic communities in Cape Town.

Format, date, time & venue

This public event will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden  on Thursday 9 July from 15.30–17.00 PM (CET).  

Image

A Captonian Quintet. Photo: Abdul Karriem Salie.

Flyer

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