VINYL FORMAT. Insound Staff Pick - 2008! &Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo '70s. Spectacular package with thick 44-page booklet and slipcase packaging. Just like with the label's first two releases -- albums by Zimbabwean '70s bands the Green Arrows and Hallelujah Chicken Run Band -- the essence of Analog Africa is clear yet again: searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep it alive. All the tracks have been officially licensed, usually from the artists who Ben Redjeb also met with for detailed research. He conducted 16 interviews in various cities in Benin and Togo with artists, producers and sound engineers to reconstruct the history of the '70s music scene for the 44-page booklet which also includes many rare photographs directly received from the artists.

Like most modern music in French-speaking West African countries, the music of Benin and Togo was influenced by a few main musical currents: Cuban, Congolese and local traditional music, as well as Chanson Francaise. Additionally, the geographical location of Benin and Togo -- sandwiched between Ghana and Nigeria -- exposed Beninese and Togolese musicians to Highlife music. The cultural and spiritual riches of traditional Beninese music had an immense impact on the sound of Benin's modern music. Benin is the birth place of Vodun (or, as it is known in the West, Voodoo), and some of the rhythms used during traditional rituals -- Sakpata, Sato, Agbadja, Tchenkoume and many others -- were fused to soul and Latin music as early as the mid-1960s and later to funk. That fusion is the essence of this compilation. There are countless stories to be discovered in the extremely well-researched booklet and the music is truly mind-blowing. So delve into the forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds from '70s Benin and Togo and experience the African Scream Contest.