Train Wreck Mix

Awesome Tapes From Africa

Awesome Tapes From Africa, USA

The Internet is a crazy thing. It's amazing how it can fill niches that you didn't know existed, but in retrospect seem entirely crucial. Through his blog, Awesome Tape From Africa, Brian Shimkovitz proves the point over and over again. While researching the local music scene in Ghana on a Fulbright scholarship, Brian discovered the regional cassette tape merchants. Upon listening and realizing that the music was often unlike anything else going in the globe, he decided to put some of the songs up on a blog he eloquently dubbed Awesome Tapes From Africa. Thus began the eternal quest for strange, and quite often incredible African cassettes. Since then, the blog has developed a cult following, and Shimkovitz often finds himself DJing his collection at parties all over the globe. And he often DJ's using only cassette decks. And to further his populist approach, every song he plays is available to download on the blog. We caught up to Brian and his dual-cassette deck for a mix featuring his fondest finds. Also included? Plenty of warm tape hiss.