Podcast: Hilton Schilder’s Catheter Symphony 

As in any fight for liberation, music was put to the service of the anti-apartheid movement. The struggle catapulted to the front the finest of its generation. It made martyrs, but it also made great musicians who helped galvanise a generation. Schilder was one such product of the struggle.

Sound Africa's Lars Overland takes a jazzy journey through the Mother City and Schilder's hyper-creative mind, getting a musician’s-eye view of what it was like growing up in the Cape Flats under apartheid, and a glimpse into his current struggle against cancer.

Schilder's music exposed the absurdities of apartheid and spoke of the mundane hardships and brutality faced by South Africa's majority, but it also had a light side. And it was his light touch that softened the day to day blows delivered by a domineering, racist state. And, no doubt, it is this lightheartedness that helps get him through his current battle.

Sound Africa is an independent South African podcast collective. The podcast above is part of our inaugural season, and we’re pleased to announce the imminent release of our second season, Nuclear SA, which will be published on the Daily Maverick website early in 2017. Visit soundafrica.org to find our more about us and support independent media in SA.