Here’s a track to celebrate the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog’s transition into a record label! Brian Shimkovitz, Awesome Tapes creator, plans on reissuing some of his favorite tapes on LP, CD, and MP3 format with 50% of all profits going to the artist. According to him:
The first release is by Mali’s Nâ Hawa Doumbia, a recording the singer made in 1982, La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 3. It comes out October 18 and will be distributed by SC Distribution.
It’s easy to separate ourselves from rare or obscure releases, especially when it comes to older non-American artists. Blogs often support rabid downloading with little context or consideration that we exist with these musicians in the same musical continuum, so it’s nice seeing a free-music site take an active stand in artist support, a trend that will hopefully continue.
• Awesome Tapes From Africa: http://www.awesometapes.com