Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou (Benin)

The ultimate feast for cosmopolitan music gourmets: in the 70s, the eleven-member "Orchestre" from Benin shared the stage with such stars as Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, and landed numerous hits in West Africa with their psychedelicized Afrobeat, hardcore Seventies-Funk and Latin Brass.

From 1970-1983, they recorded over 500 songs. But: until recently nobody in Europe knew who they were. When a handful of Rare-Groove Diggers unearthed the treasure and released several compilations of their huge output columnists and the Avant-garde hip-hop scene finally woke up. Now the orchestra can finally be heard in Europe. About their sold-out gig at London's Barbican, the "Guardian" had this no-frills comment: "It's music you cannot ignore".