Nicolaas Cornelius Carstens (10 February 1926 – 1 November 2016) more commonly known as Nico Carstens, was a South African composer, accordionist, and bandleader.
Early life.
Born, 10 February 1926, in Cape Town of Afrikaner parents, Carstens got his first accordion at the age of 13 and won an adult music competition six months later. He composed his first music piece at the age of 17.
Career.
Carstens' most famous song "Zambezi" became a world hit and has been recorded by artists such as Eddie Calvert, Acker Bilk, Bert Kaempfert, The Shadows, James Last, Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Johnny Dankworth. In 1982, The Piranhas took it to number 17 in the UK. Other versions of Carstens' compositions have been recorded by Horst Wende, Henri René, Geoff Love and bands in Australia, Italy and Poland.
Carstens wrote and performed music which spanned the various cultures of South Africa. He drew inspiration from various sources, including Cape Malay, Black Township and indigenous South African sounds and combined them to form a unique sound and style.
Since forming his own band at age 24, Carstens had composed more than 2000 songs and recorded over 90 albums which have sold over 2 million copies in South Africa. He did performances all over South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana as well as at the Nantes Festival in France and he appeared on Musikantenstadl for ORF in 1997.
Black influence.
Accordionist and songwriter Nico Carstens, with his commercially successful hits of the 1950s and 1960s, such as "Zambesi" (1953) and "Hasie" (1950), navigated a complex musical landscape that both embraced and obscured black influences. In the context of apartheid-era South Africa, where the everyday experience was marked by racial segregation, Carstens's music reflected a broader societal disavowal of black culture within the realm of commercial sound recording.
Carstens's astute understanding of the economic and expressive power associated with black cultural elements contributed to his commercial success. His compositions often evoked an exoticized image of Africa, catering to the leisure pursuits of white audiences. Titles like "Kariba," "Zambesi," and "Mombasa" referenced familiar tourist destinations in colonial neighbor states, while others like "Margate tango" and "Bosveld maan" highlighted popular local holiday spots. Through phonetic manipulations of African languages and the incorporation of African musical motifs, Carstens created a pseudo-African aesthetic that appealed to white audiences seeking entertainment and relaxation.
One notable example of Carstens's engagement with racial dynamics in his music is evident in the track "Africa," featuring the Three Petersen Brothers with Nico Carstens's orchestra. The song opens with a depiction of blackness through imitative whistling and vocal impersonations, set against a backdrop of kwela beats and Zulu street guitar. The chorus, delivered in a scat-like manner, further perpetuates stereotypes of black speech patterns.
Carstens's accordion technique further complicates racial representations in his music. By mimicking black sonic palettes through his instrument, Carstens engaged in a form of racial ventriloquism, presenting the indexical aspects of language associated with blackness to white audiences. This reciprocal "voicing" between vocal and instrumental practice served to both represent and deny the tabooed aspects of black culture, reflecting a broader pattern of racial disavowal prevalent in white entertainment of the time.
While Carstens's musical style may have appeared innocuous on the surface, it was deeply rooted in the racial dynamics of apartheid-era South Africa. Through his compositions and performances, Carstens navigated the fraught terrain of racial representation, perpetuating stereotypes while simultaneously profiting from the commercial appeal of black cultural elements.
Death.
Nico Carstens, aged 90, died on the 1 November 2016 at the Netcare N1 Hospital in Cape Town.
Compositions.
Nico Carstens has been a prolific composer. A significant number of his compositions were done with the help of his longtime business associate Anton de Waal (a.k.a. George Charles Gunn).
References.
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