How to archive sounds with Sudan Tapes Archive

At the helm of Sudan Tapes Archive is Haneen Sidahmed, a Sudanese-American multimedia artist, storyteller, and archivist based in California. Her archival work and artwork are intimately entwined, both seeking to explore the intricacies and contradictions of diasporic experience. Sidahmed is a nostalgia-junkie interested in how Sudanese communities rectify diasporic ruptures through collective memory and radical imagination. Her current projects include the Sudan Tapes Archive, an audio digitisation project that seeks to build an accessible sonic archive of Sudanese cassette tapes.

For excellent quality, You cannot help but speed. If you get pulled over, you might lose your license, but you literally can’t help it—the music eats too hard. The bass and synths transport you to Omdurman. Traffic laws do not apply in this liminal space. 

For good quality: You are vibing and tapping the steering wheel. You roll the windows down and let the California sun warm you up. You realise you’ve become your parents, who did the same thing 20 years ago. 

For aight quality: You’re on autopilot, and the song feels like an audiobook. No oomph in the bass. You can’t get into the ‘zone’. You’re distracted, thinking about the light bill or whether you should have Chick-fil-A later.