16 August 2015

Keep the Sand Outta the SIM





Africa’s latest renaissance is propelled largely by the indigenous technological transformation brought about by the proliferation of one device, the mundane mobile telephone, which has become a powerful instrument for human advancement.

Africa has been described as the first mobile-only continent. Mobile phones double as computers, payment devices, medical reminders, flashlights, & music players. The mobile phone is being used to preserve & strengthen democracy. The use of this technology for human advancement is much more innovative in Africa than anywhere else in the world.

The mobile phone is now sufficiently powerful & inexpensive, its coverage across most sub-Saharan African countries is so sufficiently extensive, that Africans are able to benefit from a means of communication & a mode of sharing that had largely passed the continent by.

It is now one of the main devices for sharing music from around the continent & around the world. Songs from far-flung locales are swapped via SIM cards on city streets & rural villages. A single cell phone can provide a myriad of music artists from all over Africa.

In 2008, Chris Kirkley went to West Africa to record folk music. "At first I ignored the cell phones because that’s not part of what I was looking for. I wanted to record traditional music. It took me a while to look at the cell phone & be like, it’s the radio, it’s the television, it’s how people are consuming media now."  Here are the results.


Various – Music from Saharan Cellphones, Sahel Sounds 003, 2011.
decryption codes in comments

Side A –
Group Anmataff – Tinariwen
Yeli Fuzzo – Abandé
Amanar – Alghafiat
Negib Ould Ngainich – Guetna
Papito (featuring Iba One) – Yereyira

Side B –
Mdou Moctar – Tahoultine
Kaba Blon – Moribiyassa
Joskar et Flamzy – Faroter
Bayta Ag Bay – Aicha

Call me,

8 comments:

  1. Saharan Cellphones
    EIEHEEMgEq_XFkC9AjvIp90zVVc0pjBtrMZIyKg_3Rg
    Vol. 2
    https://mega.nz/#!lFwnEByL!WNZKSPeUASlGJxZvOSOplJgK_pr-1GzTJ_hHdde2Ams
    Vol. 3
    https://mega.nz/#!EIImVZAY!uMXeGBd5Z_KhodrEZlhgRzF1NFTsOhxRLdE0Hpq1tqc

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is really interesting. Downloading now. Thanks for posting this. I had no idea music was being traded around Africa on SIM cards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So much more portable & affordable than a computer or laptop. & now more affordable smartphones are starting to proliferate there, so even more global ability will be in their hands. It is good to see advanced technology being used for positivity.

      Delete
  3. Okay, now this is really neat! Thanks again.

    -Xtm

    PS, Mega has fiddled with their interface to try to trick one to download through some kind of in-house"accelerator"; no doubt installing a lovely bit of *ware that no one really wants. Be sure to click the words "Download through your browser". Caveat emptor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I noticed this a while back but, as you say, I've already get enough Malware & PUP without even knowing it. Depositfile & a few others try to get you to use their accelerators as well. I always choose to download directly using my browser & so should everyone. Thanks for the heads-up to all.

      Delete
  4. i disagree the mega sync works great with no malware. deposit files and sendspace yes don't trust their downloaders. i do however like and trust the mega sync. i have had no problems.
    robert

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the input. So far MEGA has been quite aboveboard with all their offerings, so good to hear this from someone who has used it. I am just always so leery of unknown protocols. Does the MEGA sync significantly speed up downloading?

      Delete
  5. oh i forgot to thank u for these i have vol 1 and its a joy to have 2 and 3. mega was fast anyway but its even faster in synch mode plus it no longer crashes your browser. plus you get free 50gb of storage like with dropbox. i like it. the only thing is it looks like you have to download for each browser. i use both chrome and mozilla. mozilla is the one mega used to crash the worst.
    robert

    ReplyDelete