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Few things are as synonymous with The Mother City as David Kramer's iconic classic, Welcome to Cape Town.
It has offered its warm sonic embrace to visitors, both from other parts of South Africa and overseas, for many years. But in the time of physical distancing and the nationwide 21-day lockdown, it's time for a new version of the song, at least according to David and his collaborators.
The group of musos got together just last week and recorded Tsek Corona. A parody that hopes to lift the country's spirits in these uncertain times.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
MORE ABOUT THE VIDEO:
The video was filmed on mobile phones and features some of Cape Town's most well-known and loved celebs including Marc Lottering, Emo Adams, Rob van Vuuren and many more including the cast of KaapKreools.
KaapKreools was supposed to debut on 27 April at the Artscape opera house during the Suidooster Festival, which has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. With the regulations around lockdown being enacted many festivals and shows have been delayed or cancelled, resulting in a crisis in the entertainment industry as many musicians find themselves with no work.
As KaapKreools was one of the scheduled highlights on the festival's line up, the Suidooster was keen to get involved, and supported the song as a sponsor.
Channel24 got the chance to speak to David Kramer about how the song was born from the cancellation of that show and what he hopes listeners take away from it at this tough time in the country's history.
HERE'S CHANNEL24'S INTERVIEW DAVID KRAMER:
As we start the call, David explains how the song came about: "I got a call from Schalk Joubert. We were going to do a show at Suidoosterfees. So, there's a group of us. We played together when we went to Carnegie Hall. Schalk says to me: 'Now that the festival is not happening, maybe we should get the band together and do a fun video for the internet? Where musicians are playing from different parts of the world. And he said, what about Welcome to Cape Town?'.
"And I thought about the lyrics of that song, and I realised it might not be sending the right message now (laughs) welcoming visitors and all that. And so, I sat and rewrote it, to have the exact opposite meaning. And that is: 'You can't come to Cape Town, right now. We're in total shut down. There are no visitors welcome right now (laughs). So I wrote it from that more satirical point of view. And then to have a more positive message of 'we'll keep on smiling, we'll keep on dancing, until this thing is over.' "
About how the lockdown has changed his life, David says: "I'm at the stage in my career where I'm not performing as much, so I'm okay. I spend most of my time, at home, writing. I was doing a musical at The Baxter, called Danger in the Dark and that only got to be on for one week before we had to shut down. Before the lockdown. "
He went on: "It's a terrible time for a lot of people, I think especially for performing artists. With no audiences, you know, there's just nothing. There's no work. But I'm okay, I'm not dependent on that now."
About the arts industry moving forward, David admitted that times are tough and even though government funds are being made available, to help those in need, it's sometimes tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
About his hopes for the reception of the new track and video, he said: "I hope this song brings a smile to people's faces. We wrote it last week and it feels like the mood has changed but I hope this makes people stay positive. "
