The First Case of the Benin 45s

Some of you music lovers may be saying to yourselves about now, "hey Encyclopedia Sound, it's been a while since you've blown our minds with some forgotten dusty grooves from Africa."

Well, prepare to check that box.

Today I am sharing the spoils of a summer splurge on vintage singles from Benin. Music from Benin has been well compiled over the past decade, particularly by the Analog Africa label. Many listeners will be familiar with "greatest hits" by the famous Orchestre Poly Ryhtmo. But, like every place I've investigated in Africa: the deeper you dig, the more you find.

The territory of Benin is in the region of the Dahomey Empire, historically famous for a fierce, well organized military and for the elaborate Vodun religion, the foundation for many voodoo practices brought to the Americas with the slave trade. Both of these elements of Beninese culture are reflected in their modern music: martial drumming and call-and-response, along with long and trance-like passages influenced by religious rites.

Today's tracks span from the late 60s to the mid 80s. They show a development from the early music scene in Benin to the mature 80s scene. In the early days one could hear occasional traditional folk styles from Benin, such as sato, but mostly bands seemed to be offering up styles popularized in surrounding countries, such as Afro-Latin, jerk, and highlife.

By the early 70s, however, the Benin music scene was bubbling with modernized versions of traditional folk rhythms, bringing in Western influences such as psychedelic rock and reggae. The mature scene was dominated by Poly Rythmo, known for their awesome versatility, but also as the "Led Zeppelin" of the West African scene for big fuzzy guitar solos and for thunderous work on trap kit drums (still somewhat of a rarity in West Africa at that time).

Almost all these singles are on tiny regional labels, with press copies presumably quite small. I dust them off for you today on a rarity rich installment of the Adventures.