Finally, Avant-Garde Psychedelia offers mankind something more than a perfect soundtrack to getting super-duper stoned out of your gourd. In a posting on Animal Collective's Myspace account, guitarist Joshua Dibb, AKA Deacon (or Deakin, or Deaken), announced his participation in 2010's Festival Au Desert. Which desert you ask? The mother-effing SAHARA. That's right, hippies. This isn't Burning Man. This isn't some acid-fueled Dadaist jaunt outside of Gerlach, Nevada. People get lost in the Sahara and suffer miserable, scorched demises. Not to mention that damned sand, which gets everywhere.

Deacon will be playing solo sets at the festival, which takes place outside of Essakane, Mali. In addition to the sole awesomeness of playing in a locale only imagined by most Americans while listening to Zeppelin, Deacon is taking this opportunity to promote a cause near and dear to his heart – abolishing human trafficking in Mali.

Not only is the Republic of Mali a great source for forced labor in neighboring countries such as Senegal and Niger, but there is also a significant number of slaves in the country itself, including an estimated 15,000 children, who are used for everything from prostitution to gold mining to forced begging on the streets. A 2009 report made by the U.S State Department noted that while Mali's government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it is however making significant attempts, despite a severe lack of resources. Deacon hopes that his visit will increase awareness of Mali's slavery issue, thereby attracting international aid.

Said Deacon “I know we (Animal Collective) aren't normally the type to get involved directly this way, but I felt like this was a really great time and way to do it.” He plans to create a limited edition booklet and hand-packaged album which will feature some of his solo work as well as field recordings to be collected from his sojourn to the African continent. The package will cost in the neighborhood of fifty dollars and, according to Deacon, aid from Paw Tracks has made it possible for the project to “entirely humanitarian."

The Festival Au Desert begin on January 7th, 2010 and will last through the tenth. If you're in the neighborhood of Mali, go check it out. For more information on Deacon's humanitarian efforts, go to this site.