Analog Africa releases new compilation highlighting Somalian dance music between 1972-1991
The German-based Analog Africa label helped shed light in 2018 on the Somalian funk group Dur-Dur Band with an incredible triple LP featuring the band’s first two albums. This past month, the label released a brand new twelve-track compilation that continues to deeply explore the Somalian funk scene of the seventies through the early nineties.
The material for this recording came together following a significant 2016 trip to Mogadishu, which is the capital of Somalia, where label boss Samy Ben Redjeb spent three weeks rifling through piles of cassettes and listening to reel-to-reel tapes in the dusty archives of Radio Mogadishu. Much of the material featured on the compilation comes from live recordings taken during performances at state-of-the-art hotels in the city like Jubba, Al-Uruba and Al Jazeera.
The music on this record is incredibly unique, featuring a blend of traditional Somali music with disco grooves, soulful vocals, Banaadiri beats, and Afrobeat influenced funk rhythms. This compilation also features some of the most notable and active groups in the region during this period, including tracks by the Dur-Dur Band, Omar Shooli, Mukhtar Ramadan Iidi, Bakaka Band, Fadumo Qassim & Shareero Band, Iftin Band, and Shimaali & Killer.
This brilliant double LP, which also includes a well-crafted 16-page booklet, is one of the best records to accurately document this essential era in Somalian music. Even though this compilation didn’t make BeatCaffeine’s “Best of Compilation” list because it was released near the end of the year, it’s certainly ranks up there with any other recording that came out in the past twelve months.
Various — ‘Mogadisco: Dancing Mogadishu (Somalia 1972-1991)’
(Analog Africa)
- Dur-Dur Band – Daradaa Muxibo (Because of you Muxibo)
- Omar Shooli – Hab Isii (Hug Me)
- Mukhtar Ramadan Iidi – Check Up Your Head
- Bakaka Band – Geesiyada Halgamayow (Brave Fighters)
- Fadumo Qassim & Shareero Band – Waakaa Helaa (I like you)
- Iftin Band – Sirmaqabe (No Secrets)
- Mukhtar Ramadan Iidi – Baayo (Hey Woman)
- Shimaali & Killer – Hoobeya (Somali traditional chant)
- Dur-Dur Band – Shaleedayaa (By Myself)
- Dur-Dur Band – Ladaney (Woman’s Name)
- Bakaka Band – Gobonimada Jira (Choose Freedom)
- Iftin Band – Ii Ooy Aniga (Cry For Me)
