Why geography beats the algorithm
Recommendation engines think in genres and similar artists. Music history thinks in places. A neighbourhood with one great studio, a club with a house band, a radio station that played whatever local groups brought in: that's where sounds actually form. Follow a city and you get the hits, the B-sides, the session players and the rivals all at once.
Many of these scenes were cut off from the wider world by politics, war or economics. Some were nearly erased. The fact that we can hear them today is down to musicians who survived, families who kept tapes, and reissue labels who did the legwork.
The scene log
- Ethio-jazz
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The late 1960s and early 1970s brought brass-heavy bands, nightclub residencies and singers like Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete. Vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke blended jazz with Ethiopian scales to create Ethio-jazz. The Éthiopiques series on Buda Musique, started by Francis Falceto in 1997, is the essential archive; begin with Mahmoud Ahmed's Ere Mela Mela.
- Afro-funk
Cotonou, Benin
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou recorded hundreds of songs in the 1970s, mixing vodun rhythms with funk and Afrobeat. Analog Africa and Soundway reissues brought them to a new audience, and the band went on to tour Europe again in the 2010s.
- Zamrock
Lusaka, Zambia
The home of Zamrock. WITCH, Amanaz, Paul Ngozi and Rikki Ililonga made raw, fuzzy rock records after independence. Many original pressings are almost impossible to find, so look for the Now-Again reissues.
- Anatolian rock
Istanbul, Turkey
Erkin Koray, Barış Manço, Selda Bağcan and Cem Karaca turned folk songs into electric psych. Listen for the saz and the unusual time signatures carried over from Anatolian folk music.
- Khmer rock
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea and Pan Ron made extraordinary rock and pop. The Khmer Rouge years destroyed much of it, along with many of the musicians. John Pirozzi's documentary Don't Think I've Forgotten (2014) tells the story.
- Tropicália
Salvador and São Paulo, Brazil
Tropicália exploded in 1968 with the collective album Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis, featuring Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé and Os Mutantes. Skip past the famous names to Tom Zé's solo records for the strangest, most rewarding listening.
- Japanese folk-rock
Tokyo, Japan
Before city pop, there was Haruomi Hosono's Hosono House (1973), recorded at home and laid back in the best way. Hosono later co-founded Yellow Magic Orchestra, but this is the record that rewards a crate-digger.
How to dig a scene from home
Bandcamp lets you browse by location tag, which is a gift for scene digging. Search a city name plus a genre and look at what independent labels are reissuing. Awesome Tapes From Africa, started by Brian Shimkovitz as a blog sharing cassettes, became a label that reissued Hailu Mergia's Ethiopian organ record Tche Belew. That's a perfect example of how one person's curiosity can bring a whole catalogue back.
Online radio is the other great door. NTS Radio, WFMU and dublab archive thousands of shows hosted by collectors who know specific regions inside out. Find a host who loves one scene and work through their back catalogue.
Finally, look for the people. Many of these musicians are still alive, still playing, and touring on the strength of reissues. Buying a record directly from a label that pays royalties is the best thank-you there is. Next stop: our beginner's digging method.