Our LP of the Month for January is “Music from Saharan Cellphones Vol. 2” from Sahel Sounds. We really liked the first volume and thought it was crazy good in a crazy way. It was unlike anything we’d heard before. This second volume picks up right where the first ended.
These tunes are often times danceable as hell and the recordings (disregard the name) are great. The liner notes are excellent in providing direction and history while soaking in the music.
From the Sahel Sounds website: Contemporary pop music from the Sahara desert, where songs are stored on cellphones. Collected in Northern Mali in 2010 (since taken over by extremists who’ve banned music on cellphones) the second volume expands into new sonic territory – from dreamy Niger guitar ballads, Bamako club juke, to hi energy Moroccan child Raï – with a focus on the Autotuned DIY creations circulating the desert.