New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- In December 1960, jazz drummer Max Roach released We Insist! The album's five tracks were inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the US and the burgeoning freedom struggles in African colonies. Singer Abbey Lincoln is featured on all the tracks, most memorably on 'Triptych: Prayer, Protest, Peace', where her wordless vocals are a visceral protest of historic and ongoing racism. Roach and Lincoln performed the album on Belgian TV in 1964 (you can see it on YouTube). In a grim coincidence, there's a genocide ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the time, backed by Belgium.

Roach and Lincoln's performance is at the heart of the conflicts powering Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat. Johan Grimonprez's 20...