A little living room mix from 2010 influenced by a new sound to these ears — a fusion of quirky, polyrhythmic electronic music with deep, soulful African music. I could hear a hint of Cosmic Disco, but this was new and refreshing. The track was from Osborne, an artist from Detroit, on one of my favorite domestic labels Ghostly International. I generally expect Ghostly to be unpredictable, as they put out a lot of Indie Rock and experimental electronic music, but I was surprised by this track. Osborne's track mixed beautifully with a song by Ian Simmonds, an artist I've been following since the early 90s when he was part of the UK Acid Jazz group Sandals. Simmonds' track, which is my opener, features haunting vocals by the Ekonda women of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rest of the mix is just improv off those first two tracks. Enjoy!
