various artists
music from saharan cellphones
Honest Jons
a compilation of music collected from memory cards of cellular phones in the saharan desert! in much of west africa cellphones are used as all-purpose multimedia devices, housing portable music collections & tinny built in speakers.
the songs chosen were some of the highlights. made with fruity loops, home studios, synthesizers, & autotune, these songs are immensely popular on the unofficial mp3/cellphone network from abidjan to bamako to algiers. several mysterious tape releases have sparked interest, but in the past year the artists have been tracked down to collaborate on a commercial release, so 60% of the proceeds goes direct to the artists, huzzah!
