Hidden Years Oral History Project

The Hidden Years Oral History Project is aimed at collecting the stories of the musicians, individuals, institutions and associations involved with the events and concerts documented in the Hidden Years archive. Collecting these narratives is vital in order to recount this part of South Africa’s music history and to unlock the archive.

We will not only be doing open ended interviews where the meanderings of the interviewee will be encouraged, but we will also use personal archives as memory prompts.

Talking about objects such as photographs, ticket stubs and concert programmes may serve as reminders of past experiences. Even seemingly insignificant objects, such as t-shirts or zines, may trigger memories of festivals and concerts that we would like to record. These objects are also important to preserve, and if willing, the personal archives of the interviewees will be collected and preserved as part of the Hidden Years music archive. Each collection donated to the archive will maintain is personal character and be catalogued under the donor’s personal details.

Your stories are important to us, and if you would like to contribute to the project, please send us an email (lambrechts@sun.ac.za) or visit us on Facebook.