I always thought he was fairly lame, and he hardly invented Gumboot Dancing as a musical style.
It was more or less an indigenous phenomenon born out of the South African mines and (possibly) the factories where the boots were made. Very much like the way steel drums came about, IMO.
In other words it was a folkstyle that he co-opted for his pop sound.
Of course Sam Sklair did not invent the ???gumboot dance???. He merely adapted the rhythms and sounds that are typical for the original style. The origins of ???gumboot dancing??? can be traced back to the gold mines of the Witwatersrand gold mines near Johannesburg.
The bosses discovered that providing gumboots (Wellington boots) to the workers was cheaper than attempting to drain the mines. The workers were forbidden to speak, and as a result created a means of communication, essentially their own unique form of Morse Code
eedeecee
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http://soulsafari.wordpress.com/cate...ic/sam-sklair/
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I'll check that blog later.
I have some library records from him;
can't remember how they sound, though.
Need to revisit them soon.
Peace
It was more or less an indigenous phenomenon born out of the South African mines and (possibly) the factories where the boots were made. Very much like the way steel drums came about, IMO.
In other words it was a folkstyle that he co-opted for his pop sound.
The bosses discovered that providing gumboots (Wellington boots) to the workers was cheaper than attempting to drain the mines.
The workers were forbidden to speak, and as a result created a means of communication, essentially their own unique form of Morse Code
more info can be found on www.gumbootsworldtour.com
This is a Sam Sklair album which has a few enjoyable tracks.
Dope.
Unexpected and F'ed up ending to the video.