Hidden Years Music Archive Project (HYMAP)

The Hidden Year Music Archive Project (HYMAP) is an archival project based at the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS), Stellenbosch University, South Africa. This collection contains irreplaceable material documenting the popular music scene in South Africa between 1960 and 2005. The bulk of the material was collected by David Marks, owner of the 3rd Ear Music Company, and also includes various collections donated to him. Marks recorded wherever he went and has subsequently built up a vast collection of over 175 000 items representing concerts, events, theatre productions, political meetings and music festivals throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The collection was recently relocated from Durban to Stellenbosch. The aim of this project is to unpack, sort and catalogue this archive in order to make it accessible for national as well as international scholars.