Thursday, October 28, 2010

World: Ghana Highlife

Over the past year I have absorbed a whole slue of African music, largely in part to Global Groove.  Amazingly, the continent can be divided up regionally into a vast number of music subgenres, with Western Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Senegal) being my personal favorite.  It is all about high-life/afro-beat in this region.  High-life is characterized my group vocals laid out over cheap guitars and a quick-paced poly rhythm section.  You can feel the humility of each band on their lo-fi recordings and it makes discovering gems of the genre that much more special.  The music is played amongst families, passed down as tradition.  It is a cruial aspect of their society and a particular band's sound speaks wonders about the family they come from.  I'll be sure to continue featuring this style in the future, but for now I've posted two favorites to get started on! ~Tony
Dr. K. Gyasi & his Noble Kings - Sikyi-Highlife,Essiebons Enterprises Ltd.
tracks;
1 Non stop medley of :
- Yede aba
- Mene menua mienu
- Sabarima
- Ebia Nie
- Amintiminim
- Siakwaa
- Nana agyei
2 Non stop medley of :
- Efie ne fie
- Nyankonton nko nyaa
- Kwankwaasem nti
- Egya ananse yi wonan baako
- Kwaadede meyare merewu
- Eda a mewu  
 
King Onyina - Original Evergreen Tunes vol. 1,
Decca , Happy Bird
tracks;
1 Akoko aye bi agu
2 Onyame tie me su fre
3 Bebrebe ye musuo
4 Odo ye wu
5 Kate
6 Nya asem hwe
7 Me nuame mefre wo a
8 Destiny of Africa
9 Mebewu asei kwa
10 Aboa a onni dua
11 Ma ye ankonam mmobro
12 Ohia asoma wo
13 Sore befe mano
14 Dora nante yie

Promo

2 comments:

  1. Top notch selections to highlight from GG...

    Other places to check out:
    http://freedomblues.blogspot.com/

    http://osibisaba.blogspot.com/

    http://orogod.blogspot.com/

    http://wrldsrv.blogspot.com/
    (look for Super Djata band in particular)

    and of course,
    http://afroslabs.blogspot.com/

    I have more linked over at my place if'n you're interested.

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  2. Ebo Taylor's legendary producer Essiebons is on Soundcloud with many unreleased Ebo Taylor tracks and more - www.soundcloud.com/essiebons Essential Ghanaian music. 200 albums, 800 singles. No shaking. Know your rich heritage.

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