Africlipse Soundscape Collective

Musina Eclipse Festival 29 Nov-5 Dec 2002. A 6 day musical feast to celebrate the total solar eclipse on 4 December 2002 at Musina, South Africa.

The small Bushveld town of Musina will be shrouded in total darkness on a summer morning at 8:18 am CAT on Wednesday, 4 December 2002. Musina has decided to hold a 6 day feast from 29 November to 4 December 2002 to honor this occasion. Musina will throw open its doors to all who will come to witness this awesome occurrence. You will be received as a guest by everyone of Musina.

Pangaea Realities have been commissioned by the town of Musina to host a music festival from 29 November 2002 to 4 December 2002. 96 Bands will be performing on 2 stages over this period, encompassing all styles of music and catering to the tastes of all of the expected 100 000 visitors.

To capture the moment of the eclipse as well as the sights and sounds of the Festival, Pangaea Realities have launched a recording project harnessing the cream of musical and production talent in South Africa. Over the actual minutes before, during and after the eclipse, an especially composed musical piece will be performed and recorded live from stage. This recording will be put on a commemorative DVD-single, incorporating images of the actual eclipse, performance of the composition and of the Festival itself. The DVD-single will be an enriched memento of the eclipse and the Festival, enabling you to recapture the exact moment and atmosphere of this phenomenon.

Greg Georgiades, Marc Duby, Ashish Joshi, Godfrey Mchini, Wynandt van der Walt, Lydia vom Hagen, Mzama, Sydney Mnisi and Siya Makuzeni. The group represents a profusion of pan-African styles, all molded into a unique group specifically united for the purpose of composing and performing a musical piece of distinction dedicated to the eclipse.

The Africlipse Soundscape Collective DVD-single will be released in the weeks after the eclipse and Festival, and the first 10 000 copies will be made available by Christmas 2002. Enquiries and orders will be placed through the official Eclipse Website: www.eclipseonline.co.za and through www.sasounds.com. Ticket enquiries and bookings are placed telephonically through Computicket and the website www.computicket.com, and the Musina Municipality at: +2715 534 0211 (office) and +2715 534 2513 (fax).

A solar eclipse occurs when the reflected light of the sun is obscured by the passage of the moon directly in front of it. In the case of a total solar eclipse, the whole of the sun is blotted out by the moon. A total solar eclipse occurs only once every 360 years in given vicinity.

In the memories of all the people that were there, it will be remembered as the very first time each of them had ever witnessed such a phenomenon. They will remember the valley, mineral springs and the majestic Baobab trees, some carrying names due to their size, the African game, and the freshness of the citrus all shrouded in darkness for an instant in their lifetime. They will remember music and dance and people. And then they will go back to their homes all over the world, and tell the story of all they have seen.

Come as you are.
We look forward to seeing you.
Of course you are invited.