music

Top That, Pitbull Or Weezer: Artist Installs Toto’s ‘Africa’ on an Eternal Loop in African Desert

Toto Forever. Photo: Artist Max Siedentopf

If it seems like Toto’s “Africa” has been everywhere the past five months, between Pitbull’s Aquaman song and that Weezer-by-way-of–Weird Al cover, it has. Everywhere except Africa’s Namib Desert, a huge oversight which Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf hopes to rectify with Toto Forever, a solar-powered sound installation designed to play “Africa” for “all eternity.”

“I was very intrigued by this and wanted to pay the song the ultimate homage and physically exhibit ‘Africa’ in Africa,” Siedentopf told NPR, with regard to the 1982 hit’s recent resurgence. “The Namibian desert — which is, with 55 million years, the oldest desert in the world — seemed to be the perfect spot for this.”

If you want to visit this sonic equivalent of an eternal flame, you can look for it, but if you’re not up for combing a desert that spans the entire coast of Namibia, plus parts of South Africa and Angola, you can still enjoy a few minutes of eternity through the video below. Honestly, your Mr. Worldwide could never.

Artist to Play Toto’s ‘Africa’ Forever in Namib Desert