Flashback Friday: Stream the Outstanding ‘Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn of Africa’ Compilation

I wasn’t as familiar with Ostinato Records as I was with other kingpin reissue labels like Soundway, Analog Africa, etc al, but with this killer record they’ve clearly entered my radar as a group that knows how to find and package great music. This comp is a doozy, with a collection of songs that touches on dub, psych, pop, some gentle highlife, blues, funk and beyond. Besides the outstanding music, the album expertly collects the story of how this was music created and nearly lost. If you don’t know the modern history of the country, the bandcamp page below has a recap of why this rich, timeless music was almost lost in the midst of the 20-year civil war. There is even a TedTalk about the LP, titled How Music Can Rebuild a Country After 20 Years of Civil War, that you can watch HERE. Both as a historical document and as a album packed full of killer jams, don’t sleep on this LP. You can stream/buy it below.