Publication

This special issue brings together anthropologists, historians and ethnomusicologists to discuss how digital communication devices have continued, reinforced or altered the ways in which African people share sounds and images of performance. We argue that the production and circulation of musical files often follow historical patterns shaped by direct contact or older sound reproduction technologies. On the other hand, we question the social, political and aesthetic ramifications of these circulation networks in an age of digital sharing. Some of the authors who contributed to this special issue draw on long-time ethnographic fieldwork and have witnessed the arrival of digital technologies and the changes that unfolded; others rely on oral history and archival work. The case studies presented here delve into various African countries and contexts. They look at past conflicts (Raymok Ketema on the Eritrean liberation struggle) and current ones (Katell Morand on the recent war in northern Ethiopia), emphasizing the ways in which digital circulation participates in the construction of collective memory. Attention is also given to electoral communication, the building of political consensus (Giordano Marmone on pastoral northern Kenya), and strategies for controlling circulation (exemplified by the three generations of Nigerien griots discussed by Sandra Bornand). The growing presence of streaming platforms and social media in Africa is discussed in Schalk van der Merwe’s study of transformations of ‘Afrikaans music’ in post-apartheid South Africa.