“Mogadisco” compilation is a trip to forgotten funky Somalia

The latest compilation from Analog Africa is a revelatory, thrilling adventure to discover little known grooves in lands that have become hostile

Analog Africa is a label born out of passion, that of founder Samy Ben Redjeb, whose life mission is to shine a light on forgotten music scenes. This new compilation has been the hardest yet, and probably the most inspiring

As you will discover on this brilliant record, before Somalia became a failed state and the poorest place on Earth, its capital Mogadishu had a music scene that mixed Afrobeat, Disco, Funk and Reggae, to the joy of dancers in big Afros, flared pants and high shoes. Track after groovy track, it will transport you to a land you never doubted existed to live parties that you wish you had witnessed.

Like all the best compilations about music history, this album is ideally experienced in physical form. You can immerse yourself in it while you listen, by going through the accompanying booklet for stories and legends about the songs, artists and supporting characters. For the three-year mission to unearth this treasure adds much more weight and meaning to the record: first a journey to plumb the depths of Radio Mogadishu’s archives, with the help of a Colonel who is its dedicated guardian; then a subsequent effort to seek the protagonists, who had long fled the country, and record their unlikely stories.

Releases like this are so much more than mere records. They are gateways to little known history, and beacons of hope that one day parties like these will light up this suffering land again.

Want to join the global struggle for peace through fabulous Noize? Easy peasy! Put on your platform shoes, stick this on your turntable, and shake it like a Somali!