West African Beat: Rare 7s And Eps

For the last few years Acid Jazz has been the proud custodian of the Albarika Store legacy. Hailing from the small but culturally-significant state of Benin, the label was operational from the late'60s until the early '80s, and was home to some of the finest, deepest, rawest West African cuts ever. A font of local and regional music, infused with contemporary Western influences, the beating heart of the Albarika sound was the mighty T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, who in various guises released dozens of recordings for the label, under the leadership of Mêlomé Clément. The intoxicating originality of their sound stems from their combination of folkloric and sacred rhythms of the region, with the modernist sound of soukous, afrobeat, soul and funk. Recorded at EMI Studios in Lagos, these recordings have a unique high fidelity and have been a target for grail-hunting record collectors for decades. For this incredible 2LP collection, Dean Rudland and David Hill compiled the Poly-Rythmo 45 releases, 7" singles, and EP sides lost to the seeds of time together for the first time. Presented in a beautiful wide spine layout, this collection presents a snapshot of some of the group's finest work from the '70s, their distinctive beat already honed. The printed inner sleeves include images of the rare and collectable original labels and sleeves, along with sleeve notes by Francis Gooding.