Music From Saharan Cellphones Vol. 1
Check out this amazing cassette release from Sahel Sounds. The Sahel is the north African region, stretching across the entire continent, where the climate, geography, and ecology transition from the deserts of the northern Sahara to the savannas of the south. From what I understand, the cassette was the longtime source of music and tool of colloquial artistic/practical documentation. However, a flood of cheap cell phones with audio and video capabilities, mostly from China, have allowed them to usurp the use of cassettes. This has basically lead to a motley crew of amateur ethnomusicologists, some of whom are documenting their own cultures and the cultures of nearby communities. However, the main use is purely practical, as the cell phone has become a sort of extemporized Walkman. Which leads me to this compilation. This is a compilation of music collected from said cell phones, mostly from Gao and Kidal (Mali), and contains a stunning spectrum of African dancehall, Holley, takamba, skewed African house music, and more. The gentleman from Sahel Sounds explains all this better than I, so check out his post on the explosion of cell phones in sub-Saharan Africa here.
Download Music From Saharan Cellphones Vol. 1
1. Tinariwen / Baye 6:03
2. Desert Blues / Abdallah 6:04
3. Autotune / Niger 5:26
4. Souveniram / Koudede 3:52
5. Algeria / Hamdawa 3:01
6. Wassila / Hamza 3:52
7. Kabablon / Morib 3:34
8. Decale / Auguste Solo 5:03
9. Abande / Yeli Fuzzo 3:25
10. Old Synth / Tuareg 2:54
11. Protection / Flamzy 5:19
12. Sakou Si Bory / Aminata W. 4:34
13. Iba One / Papito 4:11
