Sahel Sounds


Sahel Sounds is an American record label, based in Portland, which specializes in music from the southern part of the Sahara desert.

Details

Sahel Sounds was founded by Christopher Kirkley, who traveled to Africa in 2008 after hearing a CD by Afel Bocoum. Kirkley spent almost two years in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. When he returned, he started the label, which releases albums frequently recorded by Kirkley, "a sort of vigilante ethnomusicologist", in the field. As an effort to steer clear of cultural appropriation, he claims complete transparency about finances, and divides all profits equally between the group and the label.

Artists