Finnish guitarist Janne Halonen was obsessed: He couldn’t stop listening to Lionel Loueke, the guitarist in Herbie Hancock’s ensemble. He knew Loueke was from Benin, and had to know what made his music tick. 

Before he knew it, his fascination took him to Benin. The country is home to Villa Karo, a Finnish-African cultural center established twenty years ago to promote exchange between the two countries.