Synths In African Pop Music

In this episode of Afropop Worldwide, host Georges Collinet takes a retrospective look at the use of synths in African pop music.

While some of the music sounds derivative of US pop, the best of offers a unique perspective on electronic music:

Summary:

Technology is one of the great drivers of musical change, and often one of its least understood. In this episode, we explore the synthesizer, looking closely at the history of this ubiquitous (and often debated) piece of musical technology, and investigating how and why it was first used in a variety African musics.

Enabled by groundbreaking record reissues by synth pioneers like William Onyeabor (Nigeria) and Hailu Mergia (Ethiopia), disco stars like Kris Okotie, and South African superstar Brenda Fassie, we take you back to the ’70s and ’80s, listening to the birth of a distinctly African electronic sound.

via shanoxilt

6 thoughts on “Synths In African Pop Music

  1. This is an awesome recording! I never knew this type of music was going on in the 70’s in Africa. None of these made it to the US charts? I’d love to hear one on synths in Japan.

    Thanks for sharing this

    1. What a lame PC future we live in where people are always unsure of themselves and feel the need to attach disclaimers to anything they say. It’s ok ragnhild, I didn’t think you were a racist and I’m willing to wager no sane individual here thinks that either. Just say what you wanna say. You don’t have to prove sh!t to anybody.

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