LIVING IS HARDâ?¦ is the first in a series of compilations drawing on the exquisitely rare 78s housed in EMI's Hayes Archives. While the archives represent a staggering diversity of music from all corners of the globe, for this outing, the producers at Honest Jon's choose to focus on West African transplants residing in the British Isles during the height of the modern colonial era. Serving as a unique snapshot into the immigrant experience, the music represented is a window into the folk and community-based traditions of the African Diaspora--and a revealing look at the beginnings of modern-day genres such as high-life.