Trek far enough into the sands of the Namib Desert and you might just begin to hear the distant but unmistakeable sounds of Toto's Africa drifting over the dunes.

Key points: Artist Max Siedentopf wants the song to play "for all eternity"

Artist Max Siedentopf wants the song to play "for all eternity" The track is being blasted through six speakers connected to solar-powered batteries

The track is being blasted through six speakers connected to solar-powered batteries It is not known exactly where the art installation is located in the Namib Desert

While it could be a dehydration-induced hallucination, there's a chance it could be the sound of an art installation paying homage to the 1982 classic.

Namibian artist Max Siedentopf's latest project, Toto Forever, sets out to deliver what it promises, a never-ending stream of Africa echoing in the very continent it romanticised.

The work comprises of seven white plinths jutting out of the sand in remote desert.

Artist Max Siedentopf's project Toto Forever aimed to play the 1982 classic song Africa on an eternal loop in a secret location in a Namibian desert. ( maxsiedentopf.com )

On top of the tallest box sits an MP3 player, which holds just one song.

Six speakers surround the device, projecting the music outwards.

"The song is put on loop and the installation runs on solar batteries to keep Toto going for all eternity," Siedentopf said.

The artist set up the installation as a tribute to what he said was, "probably the most popular song of the last four decades".

The exact location of Toto Forever was not disclosed by the artist. ( maxsiedentopf.com )

It's not known exactly where the sound installation is located, with the artist only confirming it is somewhere within the coastal desert, which stretches across 2,000 kilometres.

The remote location means, despite the artist's best efforts to ensure the song rings on forever, the sands of time will slowly consume the piece.

"Most parts of the installation were chosen to be as durable as possible, but I'm sure the harsh environment of the desert will devour the installation eventually," he told the BBC.

The internet's favourite song

Despite being released nearly 40 years ago, Toto's Africa is incredibly popular today, with a Google Trends analysis showing interest in the song peaked in September 2018.

The official video for the song has been viewed more than 440 million times on YouTube.

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In recent years, the song has been subjected to the meme treatment.

A Twitter bot was set up to tweet portions of the lyrics every day and a dedicated video editor clipped each word of the song into alphabetical order.

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Countless covers of the song have been made over the decades, which are compiled in a subreddit page dedicated solely to documenting the different versions.

One of the more notable covers came from Weezer in May, 2018, after a campaign was launched by Twitter user @WeezerAfrica in December, 2017.

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The cover peaked at number one on the billboard Alternative Songs chart and a limited release vinyl of the track sold out.

Another musician played a cover of the song using only pumpkins and sweet potatoes.

In an interview with Page Six in August, 2018, lead guitarist and singer Steve Lukather said he was honoured and "tickled" by the song's popularity.

"It's hilarious," he said.

"When someone looks back at 2018, we're going to be a part of that story.

"That's pretty cool."

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