Roger Peet “OBENGE RECORDINGS”

05 Feb 2014 — Trey Reis

From the label:

"OBENGE RECORDINGS is a collection of field recordings by Roger Peet, recorded in the Congo in a now vanished village called “OBENGE”. It has since been burned to the ground by military. The village was very small, and unfortunately neighbor to a ruthless ivory warlord who terrorized them and put them in harms way. EWE OF NOW was fortunate enough to capture these songs on cassette for your listening enjoyment. They are full of life, from a place where life is more real than we are accustomed to. All proceeds from the sales of this cassette go to Roger’s relief work in the in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and hopefully this isn’t the last volume."

If you haven’t stopped reading and bought the tape already, did you ever listen to that 26 Shores of Choral mix that Dolphins Into the Future guy did for Underwater Peoples? It’s all crackly and pulled from some pretty rough vinyl. All the more charming, really. This OBENGE RECORDINGS tape is the same thing, only the crackles are sticks breaking and reverberating into the microphone this guy was there holding, collecting it all, as the dancing rhythm and waves of voices twirled and twisted in the omnidirection of the mics criss-crossed, metal pattern. This music would no longer exist without this guy. Let’s throw him some support.