Welcome to African Cassettes
African Cassettes is an online cassettography dedicated to documenting African music released on cassettes. Currently the project is in an early development stage. A list of all cassettes included until now can be seen here. New cassettes are being added on a daily base. The project is based at and supported by the African Music Archives (AMA) at the University of Mainz.
Introduction
Over a period of more than 40 years cassette albums were the predominant media for publishing popular music in most African countries, i.e. the majority of commercially produced music was released on cassettes. Thus, music produced and released on cassettes represent an immense treasure of cultural heritage. Despite the relevance and importance of this heritage few information about the sheer quantity and the content of cassette albums is available. Although projects on specific genres or with a regional focus by highly engaged and knowledgeable enthusiasts fill these gaps partly, there is no compendium or catalogue which contains information on all cassette albums produced in African countries in a standardized way. Thus, there is a need for a register or a catalogue of cassette albums produced in African countries.
This project is the attempt to fill this gap with the creation of a cassettography of African Music Albums. Although I had followed the idea to start this kind of catalogue for a couple of years this project just started two months ago, thanks to the support of the African Music Archives and the Ernst-Wilhelm-Müller-Stiftung at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Currently the cassettography is in a test phase where ideas and implementation are being tested. The cassette albums used in the project are found in a private collection or in the AMA at Mainz.
At this stage the cassettography contains entries on cassette albums from 30 countries, biographical entries on the artists and bands who appear on the cassettes, entries on authors and composers of songs, as well as entries on the companies which produced and released the cassettes (such as music labels, music shops, etc.). The data in the entries is based on information provided on the cover of or on the cassettes themselves as well as from publications in the internet (online magazines, newspapers, etc.) and printed books.
The project is using open sources software (MediaWiki) in order to be sustainable in the long term. Albums are continuously added to the cassettography, more or less on a daily base and descriptive and documentation texts will be continuously revised and amended as well.
Please note that this is an academic non-profit project. Comments that contribute to the improvement and enrichment of this project are very welcome. You find our email address below.
Recent additions
Please note that the pictures are linked to the covers only. The cassette is linked to via the title below the picture.
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Šəta honäh qoyyäññ by Hirut Bäqqälä (Ethiopia)
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Guinhè RAP Compilation Vol 1 a compilation from Guinea
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Deweneti by Coumba Gawlo (Senegal)
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Gambia 3rd Day by Jaliba Kuyateh & Kumareh Band (Gambia)
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Ǝndih nat wäy Gondär by Maläfiya Täkka-nna Adanä Täkka (Ethiopia)
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Bäkätämaw by Tewodros Taddäsä (Ethiopia)
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Mayɛ Ɛnkyene by Obibini Takyi (Ghana)
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Adawa Super Sound by Dele Abiodun (Nigeria)
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Al-Bīsʾal mā bītūh by Al-Balābil (Sudan)
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Vida (Felix Owusu) by Felix Owusu (Ghana)
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Waxonalako by Tidiane & le Dieuf-Dieul (Senegal)
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Ärä Bakkəh by Marta Aššagari (Ethiopia)
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Antä balägamme by Marta Aššagari (Ethiopia)
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Bassabougou by Mariam Bagayogo (Mali)
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Radio Bissindie by Ibrahim Hama Dicko (Mali)
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Nana by A.B. Crentsil (Ghana)
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Basongueur by M'Pongo Love (DRC/Zaïre)
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Keyna by Mbilia Bel (DRC/Zaïre)
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La vie es heureuse quand on se sent aimer by Dindo Yogo (DRC/Zaïre)
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Tigray 84 by TPLF Cultural Group (Ethiopia)
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Musica Angola a compilation from Angola
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Ṣadāḥ al-Bahǧa by Mulūk al-Hawā (Morocco)
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Faro Faro Coupé Décalé 2005 a compilation from Ivory Coast
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Revelation by Adjam Tala Rockers (Ivory Coast)
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Sabäw by 5 Ǝrgoyewočč (Ethiopia)
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Zagazougou Vol 2 by Groupe Zagazougou (Ivory Coast)
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Sika yɛ Abranteɛ by Super Yaw Ofori (Ghana)
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Faateleku Vol 1 by Ismaila Oussou Nje (Gambia)
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Ze by Gueatan - System (Ivory Coast)
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Espoir by Gadji Celi (Ivory Coast)
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Batimbo by Les Maitres Tambours du Burundi (Burundi)
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Kuné ak Lila Yëngël by Titi (Senegal)
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Jamm by Youssou Ndour (Senegal)
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Amy Koita Vol. 2 by Amy Koita (Mali)
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Sa Kunu Sa by Kandia Kouyaté (Mali)
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Bembeya by Sekouba Bambino Diabate (Guinea)
Cassettes arranged by country
A
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Cassettes from Algeria |
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Cassettes from Angola |
B
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Cassettes from Burundi |
C
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Cassettes from Cameroon |
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Cassettes from Congo |
D
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Cassettes from Djibouti |
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Cassettes from DRC/Zaïre |
E
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Cassettes from Ethiopia |
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Cassettes from Eritrea |
G
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Cassettes from Gabon |
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Cassettes from Gambia |
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Cassettes from Ghana |
 |
Cassettes from Guinea |
I
 |
Cassettes from Ivory Coast |
K
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Cassettes from Kenya |
L
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Cassettes from Liberia |
M
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Cassettes from Madagascar |
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Cassettes from Mali |
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Cassettes from Morocco |
N
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Cassettes from Nigeria |
S
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Cassettes from São Tomé and Príncipe |
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Cassettes from Senegal |
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Cassettes from Somalia |
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Cassettes from South Africa |
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Cassettes from Sudan |
T
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Cassettes from Tanzania |
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Cassettes from Togo |
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Cassettes from Tunisia |
U
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Cassettes from Uganda |
Z
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Cassettes from Zimbabwe |
AMA - African Music Archive
The African Music Archive at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is collecting modern African music and makes it available to science and research. It hosts music on all kinds of media: shellac and vinyl records, as well as audio and video cassettes, CDs and DVDs. It currently hosts a unique collection of 15,000 sound recordings from the 1940s until the present. Beyond academic work, AMA seeks to make knowledge about African music accessible to a broader public.
'African Cassettes' is maintained by Andreas Wetter.
Contact
You can write an email to the project.