African music is often admired for its poly-rhythms, its ancient musical traditions, and at times the novelty of Western instrumentation within a traditional mode.
More than most continents, Africa tends to suffer from the perception we'd prefer -- rather than its actuality.
Fact is, African music is as diverse as the continent is big. And that's bigger than we tend to know or believe. That Africa has a rock scene is a fact most people aren't even aware of. That it's had a scene as old as the genre itself is criminally unknown -- until now.
But seriously, I'm not the first to acknowledge it. I'm just the latest.
The bluesy scales and shuffling rhythms American rock fans grew up on exist in West African traditional music and in its modern scenes. Though rock 'n' roll is fundamentally a reflection of the American experience, there's a history of the nitty gritty, hard and heavy stuff and this mixtape has its share.
Enjoy a trip into Afro-rock -- the not-so-distant past for some of the bands that knew how to rock...
Vintage African Rock Mixtape | Sound Travels Jan 18th 2015 by Marcusdoucette on Mixcloud
