Years before the USA came together for Africa or Bob Geldoff wondered if Ethiopian kids knew that it was Christmas-time, a true dialogue between Africa and the West transpired in a Belgian studio in 1983. French journalist turned composer Hector Zazou convened electronic wizards Claude Micheli and Guillaume Loizillon as well as Congolese vocalist Bony Bikaye, making a one-off album Noir et Blanc that still startles and mystifies. A spiky hybrid of cutting edge electronic components, no wave guitar, phased horns, pummeling drum programming, and Bikaye’s thundering deep growl, Noir et Blanc still sounds like nothing else.

Noir Et Blanc is a deceptively simple title for an album that is anything but. Released in 1983, the project brings together Congolese musician Bony Bikaye, French composer Hector Zazou, and electronic duo Guillaume Loizillon and Claude Micheli, known collectively as Cy 1*, who create complex textures using a mix of acoustic instruments and analog synths that are so interwoven it’s sometimes hard to tell them apart. The gentle bird sounds, melodic horn lines, and Bikaye’s layered, rich vocals, strike the perfect balance with the metallic, blip bloop electronics.  It sounds like it’s coming from somewhere between a lush tropical forest and a metalworks factory on Mars.