Teranga Beat Unearths Old Senegalese Vinyl Records

Marco Werman went to Senegal a week ago and for someone who has long admired the music of Senegal, he found it weird to see barely any music going on.

Many of the winter tourists were absent, fearing election-related violence.

A lot of the dance clubs were closed.

So local artists had no venues to gig in.

Radio stations in the capital Dakar were still playing classic Senegalese tunes though.

It was especially when they would spin older, rarer tunes from the 70s and 60s.

Those old tracks can now be found without having to tune in to the radio in Dakar.

That is thanks to Terenga Beat, a new record label based in Dakar.

Its founder is a Greek DJ who fell in love with Sengalese music years ago, especially its 1960s Afro-Cuban iterations.