Afronaut’s ‘Africans From Outer Space’ Is An African Space Odyssey
Image by Nick Boulton
2020 was a strange year, punctuated by unexpected moments and events that, quite literally, had us living through history. While the year was marked by negative human experiences, the day of 11 December 2021 was a good day in music. On that day, Africans From Outer Space crash landed back home in South Africa. Fumane ‘Fumez’ Mahane, Thulasizwe ‘Thulas’ Nkosi, and Zakhele ‘Mazakaza’ Mangwanyane are the African aliens who’ve come together to form the punk-rock group, Afronaut.
It’s not just their name that makes this trio something to behold, but their talent as well. Their sound is one that isn’t as celebrated and embraced, particularly in black communities. As three young black boys from Soweto, the music most favored falls under hip-hop, RnB, house, or kwaaito. Musicians outside of these genres are occassionally met with critiques of being weird, at best, or not really being black for making “white” music, at worst. Breaking through the boundaries between soundscapes is difficult work, so it’s plausible that Afronaut’s punk-rock sound could alienate them from the greater music industry.
However, if you take the time to listen and open your mind to their less than common sound, at the core of Afronaut is thee young men sharing their experience of youth in the South African context. Take “Barfight”, for example. The song tells the story of a typical night out for South African youth. A few people have a little too much to drink, tempers flare, and the next thing you know, “umshaye” is the chant sung by the crowd.
Juxtapose this to “Life Spiral”, a song about the struggle of black kids seeking to spread their wings and chase their dreams, meanwhile their parents and greater society have a different career in mind. “Life Spiral” speaks to the downward spiral of anxiety and depression that comes with being unable to live your truth; a common experience among the youth of South Africa.
At the same time, Afronaut is South African, but they’re just as universal. Consider the message of “Birdhouse”, where the trio relays,“Everybody going crazy. Everybody going cuckoo.” Is that not the perfect description of the world in the year 2020?
Afronaut’s debut EP, Africans From Outer Space is the spaceship of an out of this world odyssey, powered by punk-rock. It exists to serve black, South African youth that have been described as weird or strange, that have felt alienated, misunderstood, or outcast. Africans From Outer Space is for the people who go against the grain or feel they have no place in this world. With this release, Afronaut reminds us that somewhere in this universe, in this big, beautiful galaxy of ours, there is always a place for the “weirdos” and outcasts.