Moshito Music Conference – Johannesburg

Ten days ago I received a very unexpected invitation to speak at the Moshito Music Conference in Johannesburg. It took about three seconds to say yes. I’ve never been to South Africa – heck, I’ve never been to Africa – and I didn’t know what to expect, but the high points have come from very unexpected places.

Moshito is a three day conference investigating all aspects of the music business, not just in South Africa but throughout the continent. So I’m speaking to guys from Benin, Tanzania, Senegal, Nigeria and Mali as well. Two things have stuck out: the musicality of the Zulu language, which people speak in parallel with English, so that conversations drop in and out of both seemingly at random. The other is how men shake hands. It’s sensuous. It lingers. It involves a series of clasps and touches, and it’s soft. It’s a language in itself.


This morning we got to the venue about 9am, just as the doors were to open. The staff – mostly students – were singing the same kind of music before they started work. It rocked.

The Conference staff