Unknown Artist – Decent International 01

Helpfully, there’s little information about the mysterious artist – or artists – behind this first, four-track missive on the Decent International imprint. Musically, though, there’s much to admire – not least the anonymous producer’s penchant for combining Ugandan, Liberian and Ghanaian percussion with vintage drum machine hits and humid electronics. While there are some more purist offerings – see the looped indigenous samples, trademark guitars and fluid percussion of “Leaving You”, and horn-heavy, vocal rich “When Koaa” – it’s the more adventurous offerings that really hit the spot. Both “Uganda Futura 1” and “Uganda Futura 2” are delightfully out-there, pairing original African rhythms with the far-sighted electronics of Motor City techno – it’s just a shame they both last no longer than 2 and a half minutes.