A 4-CD collection featuring 100 tracks taken from rare 78rpm recordings of African music (1909 to mid-1960s), none of which have ever been issued on CD until now. Pan-African in scope & wildly diverse, Opika Pende is a testament to the deep riches found in early recorded music across the continent. compiler bio: Jonathan Ward is a Los Angeles-based collector, researcher, & writer. In 2007, he began the well-known website Excavated Shellac, which features a wide-range of scarce, international 78rpm records from across the globe with extensive commentary. In 2010, Jonathan released his first LP in a series for Dust-to-Digital’s vinyl imprint Parlortone. Titled Excavated Shellac: Strings, it contains 14 exemplary performances on string instruments from across the globe, all from his collection of 78s.

“Besides having an incredible collection, Ward also is a fantastic writer.” – Aquarius Records “an incredible resource for rare international 78rpm recordings. His blog posts always go the extra mile in placing the music within a larger cultural & historical context.” – WFMU, Free Music Archive “Meticulously detailed commentary & mind-blowing music…Bravo to Ward & Dust-to-Digital for the continued attention to detail.” – Other Music, on Excavate d Shellac: Strings “He's one of the smartest obsessive record collectors I know…This is the rarest of the rare & the best of the best.” – Steve Roden. The Wire

A 4-CD collection featuring 100 tracks taken from rare 78rpm recordings of African music (1909 to mid-1960s), none of which have ever been issued on CD until now. Pan-African in scope & wildly diverse, Opika Pende is a testament to the deep riches found in early recorded music across the continent. compiler bio: Jonathan Ward is a Los Angeles-based collector, researcher, & writer. In 2007, he began the well-known website Excavated Shellac, which features a wide-range of scarce, international 78rpm records from across the globe with extensive commentary. In 2010, Jonathan released his first LP in a series for Dust-to-Digital’s vinyl imprint Parlortone. Titled Excavated Shellac: Strings, it contains 14 exemplary performances on string instruments from across the globe, all from his collection of 78s.

“Besides having an incredible collection, Ward also is a fantastic writer.” – Aquarius Records “an incredible resource for rare international 78rpm recordings. His blog posts always go the extra mile in placing the music within a larger cultural & historical context.” – WFMU, Free Music Archive “Meticulously detailed commentary & mind-blowing music…Bravo to Ward & Dust-to-Digital for the continued attention to detail.” – Other Music, on Excavate d Shellac: Strings “He's one of the smartest obsessive record collectors I know…This is the rarest of the rare & the best of the best.” – Steve Roden. The Wire