Chad: the country not the man.  A nation apart from the modern world, with struggles far more profound than the state of their music industry.  Yet with roughly 200 different ethnic groups and over 100 languages (French is widely spoken in the south, Arabic in the north), the diversity of music-making in Chad is ever present.  Perhaps in reaction to the neglect the country has received from the world community, Chadians have largely shunned modern music.  Other African rhythms, such as Congolese soukous, have seeped into the soundscape, but traditional instruments still hold sway.

The Chadian balafon has phallic calabashes hanging underneath which act as resonators to give a gritty, distorted sound:

And then there are Chadians living abroad, making fearless musical hybridity…

Listen to La Seconde Méthode’s sublime first album here.  Hovering somewhere between desert blues and post-rock.  Superbe.

Stream part 1: the Global Mix

Stream part 2: Chad