Yahaya Alhaji Zakari and his Awaye Group — Vol. 4 Abin Dunia

I like this guy’s jacket. I also like Yahaya Alhaji Zakari’s squeaky voice, or perhaps that’s the just the heat-and-dust warbled tape. The tape is a bootleg of another—its cover is a crooked photocopy and the recording just sounds distant. The distortion is particularly intense, in a good way I think. The mix here is fun too: the bass drum, which seems to lead the whole crew, is louder than pretty much everything else. It sounds like a bass-heavy system playing out of a shitty car, loose pieces vibrating each time the bass hits.

I bought this tape in Ghana on the main drag of a place in the capital called Nima. The neighborhood cassette stands in Nima are great because you can find music and movies from all over West Africa, especially Muslim regions. Nima has a higher population of Muslims than most other parts of Accra. The reason for this tangent is you can tell from this artist’s name that he is Muslim. That’s about all I know about this one.

N.B.: You might be wondering why the track order of the downloads is slightly different than the track list on the casette cover. Many of the most Awesome Tapes From Africa contain baffling errors on the cassette covers, labels, and/or recorded program. There’s often a good amount of guesswork in deciphering these tapes…

Side A
Abin Dunia
Saamun Woni
????
Munriga Mungane

Side B
Muuni Yaaran Super
Seidi Alama
Kubarr Haasada
Ganin Mohammadu