“Africa” By Toto Will Play For All Eternity

By Yeshwanth K

Almost everyone familiar with 80s music is aware of the hit song “Africa” by the artist Toto. It has been used in many films and TV shows such as Stranger Things, South Park, etc.

Even after 35 years, this song is still getting to experience playtime. Not just on Spotify all over the world but in a remote place of the Namib Desert in Africa. This song is played through a music setup where it will be played forever.

Max Seidentopf, a Namibian artist and a fan of this song, wanted to make sure that this song would remain eternal. In an interview about this, he said that some like it, but some people think it is the worst sound installation ever, which he thinks is a bit harsh.

Image Courtesy: Max Siedentopf / maxsiedentopf.com

The sound installation consists of 7 white bases, where 6 of them are hosting speakers connected to an MP3 player on the 7th base located in the middle of those bases. This MP3 player has only one song, i.e., “Africa,” which is looped to play for all eternity.

The Namib desert is never out of sunlight, and this sound installation is powered by solar batteries, where the hit single of 1982 will be on a loop to let Toto sing until the end of time.

Image Courtesy: Max Siedentopf / maxsiedentopf.com

The location has been kept a secret by Seidentopf, and he hopes the song will keep on playing forever, undisturbed. However, he is very practical and admits that his work would be devoured by the desert eventually. Even though all the parts of this installation were chosen to be extremely durable, the desert will have its way of taking it down.

The artist Seidentopf owns a website where he has pictures regarding his installation. If you intend on searching the Namib desert to find this, the pictures will give you an idea of what to search for.