“Where the Water Was” written by Martin Høybye and Casper Ace in Cape Town. Connecting the mindset behind the inequities of the past to social and environmental transgressions in the present, our song calls for an awakening of care and connection.

The songwriters feel that if we can retrain ourselves to take care of water, in all its forms, we may simultaneously learn to address the challenges of environmental crises in constructive ways. Therefore “water” is used both as a physical, political, and metaphorical reference throughout the lyric.

“Where The Water Was” sings a story of the impact that the first permanent European settlement at the Western Cape in South Africa had on the indigenous inhabitants, the Khoi and the San peoples. The consequences left a legacy still felt by their descendants, and by extension the descendants of many others living with the repercussions of colonialism at the Cape today.

Using Cape Town as a lens, a resilience and a resourcefulness inherent in indigenous knowledges are highlighted in the song. It proposes that an awareness informed by these knowledges may further greater harmony with nature and each other in the present.

Listen to “Where the Water Was” here: https://hoybye.lnk.to/water