a collection of super rare and highly danceable masterpieces recorded between 1969 - 1981 by four legendary composers from benin: antoine dougbe, el rego et ses commandos, honore avolonto, gnonnas pedro & his dadjes band each one of them with their own distinctive sound. this compilation comes with a 40 page full colour booklet with ultra rare pictures and biographies. fasten your seat belt and enjoy the mind blowing sound of benin.

double vinyl in gatefold sleeve with 24 page lp-size booklet and download code for high quality wav / mp3 files.
a great compilation can open the gate to another world. who knew that some of the most exciting afro-funk records of all time were actually made in the small west african country of benin? once analog africa released the first african scream contest in 2008, the proof was there for all to hear, gut-busting yelps, lethally welldrilled horn sections and irresistibly insistent rhythms added up to a record that took you into its own space with the same electrifying sureness as any favourite blues or soul or funk or punk sampler you might care to mention.
ten years on, intrepid crate-digger samy ben redjeb unveils a new treasuretrove of vodoun-inspired afrobeat heavy funk crossover greatness. right from the laceratingly raw guitar fanfare which kicks off les sympathics’ pile-driving opener, it’s clear that african scream contest ii is going to be every bit as joyous a voyage of discovery as its predecessor. and just as you’re trying to get off the canvas after this one-punch knock out, an irresistible afro-ska romp with a more than subliminal echo of the batman theme puts you right back there. ignace de souza and the melody aces’ “asaw fofor- would’ve been a killer instrumental but once you’ve factored in the improbably-rich-to-the-point-of-being-nat-king-cole-influenced lead vocal, it’s a total revelation.

african scream contest’ is the third release by the analog africa label. the project initially took off in august 2005 when label owner and vinyl collector samy ben redjeb arrived in cotonou, benin, “without any special expectations, just hoping to lay my hands on few good records - what i found in the process cannot really be described in words-. this first trip was followed by eight more to the region. thirty months and few thousand records later analog africa proudly presents this 14-track compilation. redjeb conducted 16 interviews in various cities in benin and togo with artists, producers and sound engineers to reconstruct the history of the 70s music scene for the 44 pages booklet which also features many rare photographs directly received from the artists. delve into the forgotten raw and psychedelic afro sounds from 70s benin and togo and experience the african scream contest. very, very limited copies in, and this might notcome in anymore.... tip!