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Music

1. Sir Victor Uwaifo: Guitar-Boy Superstar, 1970-76
Uwaifo is one of the greats of Nigerian music. This 19-track compilation of album cuts and singles focuses on the highlife sub-genre he invented, Akwete, a rhythmic embodiment of his synesthesia, a...read more
2. v/a: Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos
This two-CD package comprises the music from a 2001 box set that also included a third disc with an audio documentary with interviews (a note in the booklet shows where that’s available for free on...read more
3. v/a: Legends of Benin
This compilation covers just one small country—but a lot of territory in terms of time (1969-81) and style (Afro-funk, Cavacha, Agbadja, Afrobeat). Aside from Antoine Dougbe & Orchestre P...read more
4. Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3
We were all expecting great albums from Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Flaming Lips in 2009, but this record arrived with little fanfare and knocked us for a loop. Mulatu Astatke (born 1943) i...read more
5. v/a: Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Ghanaian Blue 1968-1981
This two-CD set comes from the people who’ve previously compiled the Nigeria Special and Ghana Soundz series. This album is less psychedelic than the former and much closer to the first Nigeria Spe...read more
6. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey: Echos Hypnotiques, Vol. 2
The second volume of Analog Africa’s OPRC reissues is subtitled From the Vaults of Albarika Store 1969-1979. This disc sounds much better than the fine but motley volume 1, for the material here wa...read more
7. Vampire Weekend: Contra
Fans of Vampire Weekend’s debut will find a lot to like in their sophomore effort—the same clipped and catchy melodies, WASP-Life subject matter and African influences (though here they sometimes s...read more
8. v/a: Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound in 1970s Nigeria
Soundway has done a great job with this. Even the Fela Kuti cut — an early 7” version of “Who’re You?” that’s rawer than the more familiar version — has not previously been reissued. Th...read more
9. v/a: Nigeria Special volume 2: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6
This album’s lengthy subtitle still doesn’t encompass all of the sounds on display here. The Don Issac Ezekiel Combination has gospel-group harmonizing, several groups deploy jazz-tinged stylings, ...read more
10. v/a: Next Stop...Soweto, Vol. 2: Soul, Funk & Organ Grooves from the Townships 1969-1976
The first volume of Strut's Soweto-themed compilation series was great; this one's even better if you're a connoisseur of cross-cultural pollination, as the mix of Western R&B styles and Sou...read more