"We were just sitting on the masters," says McPherson over the phone from his home base in Guelph, fighting the flu. "And after a while I just said to myself, 'This is crazy man, we've got these unbelievable performances, and it's a crying shame that nobody is going to hear this stuff.' So I wrote to Ignace in Ottawa and said, 'Look, I'm cooking up this project. Do you mind if I plunder the archives a bit?'"

Ntirushwamaboko agreed: "Make something of it," he said.

And make something he did. Inspired by the genre splicing work of dub mavericks Adrian Sherwood and Bill Laswell, McPherson and his cohorts in the contemporary fusion ensemble Eccodek "cooked up" 2003's cross-cultural feast More Africa In Us, featuring both Ntirushwamaboko and Mali singer Samba Diallo.

Fusing African vocals and sleek urban jazz with exotic Eastern melodies and modest slivers of electronica, the nine-track collection is an aural indulgence of magnetic grooves, percolating beats and bone-rattling bass: rhythmic nourishment for the mind, body and soul.

"I knew that I certainly wanted it to have a nice organic feel throughout," says McPherson of the production. "I didn't want it to become mechanical. But the litmus test was not doing a disservice to the singers, because those vocals are just so beautiful. I just really wanted that to be the primary focus for the listener, because they create such a lovely vibe. But I'm such a texture freak that I just couldn't resist getting my hands into the mix."

McPherson's fingerprints are indeed all over More Africa In Us, but never at the expense of the artists and their traditions.

"It's so important for me to be respectful of the cultural source and to bring something new to the table and not just shamelessly steal," he insists. "I think it's really important that we open our doors to interpretation of other cultures' work, because they want to come in the door as well. I kind of hope that's what the record is doing for people, encouraging that spirit of unity and openness."