Trevor Sacks offers a primer on boeremusiek, a type of Afrikaner dance music “brought by the European to Africa and that the South African, in his isolation in remote districts and farms, kept up as part of his own culture”:
Boeremusiek usually has no vocals, and its central instrument is the crunchy, droning concertina, an originally European free-reed instrument replete with bellows—much like an accordion, but smaller and perhaps cuter. As with some forms of American folk music, guitar, banjo, occasionally violin, and bass or cello accompany it. It could be considered the bluegrass of South Africa, although perhaps it’s closer in sound to Cajun music, or polka mixed with Parisian cafe kitsch.
(Video: performance of “Sonop Vastrap”)
The Dish 