Cue the goema drums and turn the speakers up — Cape Town has a brand new soundtrack, and it’s echoing with love, rhythm, and local pride.

Singer and hometown favourite Fagrie Isaacs has just released his latest track, ‘The Cape Town Song’ – A Musical Love Letter to the Mother City’, and it’s already being hailed as the Mother City’s new anthem. Even Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has thrown his support behind it, praising it as a tribute that captures the city’s heart and soul.

“I’ve always had a love for my city like no other,” Isaacs said. “I’ve travelled the world, but there’s no place like Cape Town.”

What began as a simple request to create a podcast jingle for Cape Flats Stories, a community-focused platform led by author Stanley Jacobs, soon turned into something much more profound.

“Stanley’s whole thing is about helping the people of the Cape Flats, uplifting communities,” Isaacs said. “So when my manager was approached to do the jingle, I saw the opportunity to finally do something I’ve always wanted — to make a proper musical love letter to Cape Town.”

That’s how The Cape Town Song was born. And once the inspiration clicked, the words came pouring out.

“It wasn’t hard to write,” Isaacs said. “Everything came from the heart — Table Mountain, the big blue sea, our people, our cultures, our history. It’s all there.”

At the heart of the track is the goema rhythm — the unmistakable sound of Cape Town’s streets during the Kaapse Klopse carnival. Isaacs wanted authenticity, so he teamed up with Amir Williams, a giant in the klopse and Malay choir scene, and an expert at capturing the Cape’s unique musical DNA.

“Goema isn’t just nostalgia,” Isaacs said. “It’s alive. It’s the heartbeat of the city. It’s the culture of the people.”

Williams brought on an all-star rhythm section, including Mansoor Joseph on banjo, tambourine, and goema drum, as well as one of the Cape’s most respected bassists. Together, they created something that doesn’t just sound like Cape Town — it feels like it.

What makes this track stand out is its sincerity. This isn’t a touristy postcard — it’s a deeply personal anthem, written by someone who’s walked these streets, loved this city through its highs and lows, and wanted to share that love with the world.

“It’s the people that make Cape Town what it is,” Isaacs said. “So this song is for them — for us.”

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

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