What did that mean, an African city? Why? Because Joburg was soundtracked by the maquamba beat? There was nothing un-African about Cape Town. He felt the old sentences begin to take shape, the old argument begin to coalesce. This city and all its fucked-up divisions and casual cruelties was the way it was because of slavery and colonialism and you don’t get more African than that.

Marley effectively used the hypnotic sounds of reggae laced with poetic lyrics to protest injustices, creating an entirely novel philosophical discourse through music. Brown’s aggressive funk, which became the backbone of Fela’s Afrobeat, placed the reviled, feared black body and features on the map of the world in a positive, sensuous light. But neither Brown nor Marley tried to organize popular resentment into a political party, as Fela did. Neither went as far as Fela in identifying in unmistakably graphic terms the elites that were responsible for the oppression of African peoples all over the world.

In my second year I was heavily involved with the Students’ Union and became Entertainments Officer, booking bands and DJs. I was always listening to music on my Walkman and would sing walking along the corridor between courses. Word spread that I could hold a tune, so I started getting offers to sing. A student jazz pianist asked me to sing jazz standards so he could practise his piano, and we would rehearse in a hall on campus. After a solid year of bugging from a guitarist friend, I also joined a covers band, a jazz/soul septet we named JASS. We practised with lesser-known songs like ‘Blind’ by Talking Heads, Rufus and Chaka Khan’s ‘Stop On By’ and Hue and Cry’s version of Prince’s ‘Kiss’.

My guitarist Elliot came with me, all ready to work with his beautiful guitar ideas. When we walked into her studio in Burbank, forty-five minutes outside LA, we were stunned. It was impressive, with around fifty amazing vintage guitars in the live room. Elliot and I exchanged glances – what Linda didn’t know is that he is a left-handed guitarist, so he couldn’t play any of them. Ouch! That did not help the vibes.

Developing a style is the trickiest part, as within electronic music there are many different tiny musical spheres, so it takes a long time to hear the subtle shading between them, and some of the nuances are slight but vital. There is a magical, spiritual side to understanding the flow of energy in a room, knowing which track to play next, nurturing a crowd and taking them on a journey with you. There’s no fast way to becoming a good DJ – it takes a ton of gigs, with lots of embarrassing mistakes along the way.