Alternate African Reality is a follow-up to several compilations I have published on Syrphe since 2007 (the first one, Beyond Ignorance and Borders included various artists from Africa and Asia), and even earlier on my defunct tape label in the 1990s (the last tape, Archives Humaines vol.1, was published in 1996 and included 25 artists from 25 countries, including non-Western ones : South Africa, Japan, Chile, Brazil).

Alternate African Reality could be seen as a drastic improvement of 30.2, a compilation released in 2012. The CD included nine artists from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Mauritius, South Africa, Réunion and Madagascar/France. But even if I was very happy with the result, I always thought I should do a deeper research, and another issue I faced was the fact that I didn’t manage to include any women in the project.

Travelling and touring throughout parts of Africa allowed me to meet many more artists than what I ever expected and pushed me to work on this new release.
This time, the end result reveals a more global compilation that could be compared to Uchronia, a compilation that includes 49 artists and bands from 32 Asian countries and the diaspora in the field of so called experimental music.
Alternate African Reality is nonetheless musically more diverse, including abstract but also beat-oriented music such as ambient, electronica, electroacoustic, noise, singeli, bass music, industrial hip hop, etc.

It includes 32 artists and bands from 24 African countries and the diaspora, and last but not least, 14 women are among those vibrant musicians and composers.

Of course the artists included on the compilation only represent a fraction of the African electronic music world, and the listeners should not believe that nothing exists outside of those countries.
Electronic, and, at a lower extend depending on where you look for, experimental music do exist in many other African countries.

I wish that this project will open some eyes and ears and also create more connections and networks.

You will find more information, contacts, biographies and a short essay in a PDF available with the whole compilation if you purchase the CDs or digital files.
Biographies, contacts and websites are also available on this page when you click on “info” next to each track.
You can also have a look at this database that contains more than 3000 references about African and Asian composers, musicians, labels, magazines and so on. syrphe.com/african&asian_database.htm

If for some valid reasons you cannot afford to buy this release, you can send a message and explain why and I might send you a download code.

I deeply thank all the artists involved and also those who for one reason or another could not participate this time as well as all the people who supported me and provided help and advises to make this project happen, those who hosted and invited me during all the travels I made throughout Africa : the Nyege Nyege team in Kampala, Mass Alexandria/Berit Schuck in Alexandria, East African Records Studios/David Cecil and his family in Kampala, Esaete (Naomi) in Kampala, Houdini in Kampala, Lukas Ligeti, Ignacio Priego, Rhéa Dally, Yebo! Contemporary Art Gallery in Ezulwini, the Rock House in Mbabane, Ground Zero - Marley Coffee in Cape Town, Chiharu Mizukami, Chihiro Sato, Paweł Kuźma, Lynda Kansas, Tengal Drilon, Jamir Adiong and his family, Vilho Nuumbala, Kamila Metwali, Sharon Tan, Olivier Moreau, Christopher Kirkley/Sahel Sounds, Nenad Vujić, David Kerr/Sign Records, Memory Biwa, Essia Mestiri, PJ/slowfidelity and many more, you know who you are !

Cedrik Fermont

The track order on the physical release differs from the one of the digital release.

Mash (Tunisia)
Pö (France/Ghana)
[MONRHEA] + Ejuku (Kenya/Uganda)
Jako Maron (Réunion)
Robert Machiri (Zimbabwe)
Ujjaya (France/Madagascar)
Ibukun Sunday (Nigeria)
KMRU (Kenya)
Cobi van Tonder (South Africa)
Redha M (Algeria)
Aurélie Nyirabikali Lierman (Belgium/Rwanda)
Shadwa Ali (Egypt)
Tiago Correia-Paulo (Mozambique)
Jacqueline George (Egypt)
AMET (Cameroon/Germany)
Hibotep (Ethiopia/Somalia)
Aragorn23 (South Africa)
The Age Of Heroes (South Sudan)
Beko The Storyteller (eSwatini)
Catu Diosis (Uganda)
Yao Bobby & Simon Grab (Togo/Switzerland)
Mario Swagga and DJ Silila (Tanzania)
AFALFL (Mauritania)
Rey Sapienz (DR Congo)
Ibaaku (Senegal)
Sukitoa o Namau (Morocco)
Victor Gama (Angola)
Luca Forcucci featuring Cara Stacey and Mpho Molikeng (Italy/Switzerland/South Africa/Lesotho)
C-drík (Belgium/DR Congo)
Emeka Obgoh (Nigeria)
Chantelle Gray (South Africa)
Ski Crime (South Africa)

Similar releases :
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/uchronia
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/not-your-world-music-noise-in-south-east-asia
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/pekak-indonesian-noise-1995-2015-20-years-of-experimental-music-from-indonesia
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/art-of-the-muses
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-ignorance-and-borders
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-noise
syrphe.bandcamp.com/album/302
onemoretapeblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/title-archives-humaines-vol.html

Essay that comes with the compilation : syrphe.com/texts/various%20artists%20-%20Alternate%20African%20Reality.pdf