大象传媒

As a record collector, DJ, writer, and founder of record label, Ostinato, Vik Sohonie has travelled the world to collect gems of African music. But that's been difficult - near impossible - to do this last year of coronavirus and lockdowns.

But thanks to being granted access to the huge, but heavily restricted grand Archives of Radiodiffusion-T茅l茅vision de Djibouti (RTD), he's been working on a series of compilations of music from East Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, and of course Djibouti.

The first to be published - later this week - is called 'Djibouti Archives Vol. 1: Super Somali Sounds from the Gulf of Tadjoura'. It's based on the music of 4 Mars, a 40-member Somali supergroup formed in 1977 as the ruling party's personal band 'to unify the country'.

He told Lawrence Pollard more about the group.

"The problem is 4 Mars is 40 people - that's a big group, so if you want to tour them that's a lot of money. So 4 Mars never really left the region, unless it was to go to countries where there was enough wealth to accommodate them. So, for example, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was a big fan of 4 Mars and he brought them on two trips to Tripoli to perform. "

(Photo: 4 Mars Keyboardist and Singer Asha Hussein. Courtesy of Djibouti's Le Palais du Peuple)

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