Desert discs: how mobile phones are at the root of Saharan music

Christopher Kirkley went to Mali to make field recordings, but returned with a mixtape of music taken from Saharan Sim cardsHowever eclectic your music collection, it would still need to go some way to match the sheer range of tracks shared by villagers swapping songs via Bluetooth and Sim card in the Sahara. Bollywood classics, Algerian Rai, Kuduro, French ballads – this is just a sample grab of the kind of sounds doing the rounds there, many of which can be found on Music from Saharan Cellph...

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