T.P. ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO - LE SATO 2

Over the past few years, Acid Jazz have released a series of reissues from the enigmatic Albarika Store, a goldmine of records from Benin, West Africa from the late 1960s through to the early 1980s – and T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo’s Le Sato 2 might just take the biscuit for the most obscure release. The ‘Prince’ Melome Clement-led outfit’s follow up to their 1974 LP Le Sato was, in a brilliantly confounding move, originally sold in exactly the same sleeve as the first volume, with the new catalogue number simply written on the back. This reissue, then, marks the first proper release of this sublime record – easily the equal of its predecessor – with a sleeve that incorporates the original design while adding a different colour scheme. Some of the best and most vibrant heavy, heady Afro-Funk you are ever likely to hear, Le Sato 2 is yet more confirmation that T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo were undoubtedly Benin’s premier group – which is exceedingly high praise indeed.