Tapes/Africa
href.coolOne of the joys of the Internet is a connection to rare, unpublished, uncirculated works. I had never had access to much African music—now I do.
Primer on Saharan music - sweet pictures of Tuaregs with guitars and the
backstory on how this genre came to light. You should have to be forty years in
the desert to make music like this. It’s right. (See also:
‘tuareg’ tag on Bandcamp.
My fave is Super Onze.)
headmedicine.blogspot.com
Reissues of one-of-a-kind recordings from Africa. Some are hifi and masterful;
others are experimental and fresh. If you aren’t convinced that a web directory
can still be fascinating to explore, wander through this.
www.awesometapes.com
An attempt to recreate the notorious “Gumboots: Accordian Jive Hits, Vol. 2”
cassette that once mesmerized Paul Simon. This certainly mesmerizes! The sound
of ‘groaner’ Mahlathini, alongside The Mahotella Queens or Dark City Sisters,
is transporting. (To me, discarding the works of these musicians does
make Simon’s appropriation a crime—if he had just introduced us to all of
these artists.)
www.kleptones.com
Hey, alright! Focused on Ethiopian music specifically—and instruments, too: heard
of the krar or the washint? (Count me as another who has found themselves lost in
the musical tunnels of Mulatu Astatke.) Some good mixes on here, if you want to
feel your way around.
ethio-pain-music.blogspot.com