Toto’s 1982 soft-rock hit ‘Africa’ has proved itself to be an unrelenting, gargantuan triumph in recent years.
A quadruple platinum hit with 400 million views on YouTube, in 2017 it became the most streamed song on the internet, was covered by Weezer in 2018 and launched itself to the top of the iTunes charts.
Now, the iconic track is set to be immortalised forever in what has been called the “Worst sound installation ever”.
The art project, created by German-Namibian artist Max Siedentopf, sees the song played on a never-ending loop in the continent that song was initially inspired by.
The 55 million-year-old Namib desert plays host to the installation.
It’s a simple, yet beautiful, premise: an iPod with containing just one song, belted out from seven solar-powered speakers stood on white plinths constructed by Siedentopf himself – check it out below.
27-year-old Siedentopf said that he wanted to give the track “the ultimate homage”
“[I] wanted to pay the song the ultimate homage and physically exhibit ‘Africa’ in Africa,” he explained to the BBC.
“Some [Namibians] love it and some say it’s probably the worst sound installation ever. I think that’s a great compliment.”
Speaking about the tracks longevity, Siedentopf ambitiously hopes that the installation plays for another 55 million years, but has realistic expectations: “Most parts of the installation were chosen to be as durable as possible, but I’m sure the harsh environment of the desert will devour the installation eventually,”
