Atakora Manu - Pim No Bi (1981)

Composer, guitarist and sound engineer Atakora Manu released a large catalog of albums through the 1970s and 80s characterized by a sound that's best described as smooth, groovy, and certainly unique within the context of Ghanaian highlife. Manu's 1981 Pim No Bi is no exception. Here we have two medleys (each over 10 minutes in length) which feature interlocking guitar lines, playful synthesizers, and the distinctive singing of lead vocalist S.K. Amoako Agyeman. Below you'll find Atakora Manu's bio. Enjoy!  Download

Atakora Manu - Sunkwa (excerpt)

Mr. Atakora Manu was born at Toase in Ashanti in 1940. He had his Elementary School Education at both Toase Roman Catholic and Amoako Local Authority Middle Schools. After leaving school in 1956 he joined the Ministry of Agriculture as a Motorblow Machine Operator stationed at Brofoyedru in Adansi. The Gang Leader of his group was a good guitarist and the music instinct in him was roused and so became an ardent follower.

The Spraying Surerintendnt at the station, the late Mr. B.D. Prempeh who was also a brother, encouraged him with a promise that souuld he become perfect he would purchase a set of musical instrumnets for him. Before the promise could be realised, Mr. Prempeh died suddenly in a mortor accident in 1961 and his heart's desire was dashed.

Mr. Atakora Manu resigned and came back home where Mr. B.K. Amankwah of Toase bought a set of musical instruments for him to be based at Toase as resident band. He formed a Concert Party known as the Princess Trio and toured the whole country with a big bang. Between 1963 and 1966, he was a guitarist of the United Ghana Farmers Council Drama Troupe and with the staging of the 1966 Coup, the Troupe was disbanded and he came back home again.

 
In 1967, he together with Kakaiku formed KAKAIKU No.2 Band with him as the Lead guitarist. Some of their hits are: OHOHO BATANI, KOOKROKOO, AKWANTU MU NSEM, AKYINKYINA AKYINKYIN etc.

In 1970, he resigned from KAKAIKU No.2 Band and did not join any band until 1973 when he was employed as Studio Attendant by Ambassador Records. With the goodwill of Mr. A.K. Badu, Managing Director, he was encouraged to use the studio to enhance his ability with the hope of recording in the future. As a result of this good gesture, he regrouped his Princess Trio. The other members of the Trio are C.K. Mensah, S.K. Amoako Agyeman, Agyei Kyeremanteng and Atta Fofie. They are all from Toase with the same family base.     - by D.F. Boateng

Some great lps by Atakora Manu are already available online at Globalgroove and Afroslabs:

Afro Highlife
Disko Hi-Life
Odefedefe
Bre Bre Na Eye

African Brothers Band - Have African Feeling

"Nana Ampadu wo he?" (Where is Nana Ampadu?) the Manager Rover Amo, asked Joe Dee. The time was exactly 7:45 a.m in that Summer morning. The recording was billed to commence at exactly 8 a.m., but Nana Ampadu I, the Leader, was not in the Studio. Rover Amo was wondering what had become of him. Donkor, Joe, Asare and others were discussing the issue. An unmistakable sign of dejection and consternation began to show up in their faces. The studio had been booked for only an hour and it was just a few minutes to 8 a.m. The studio manager had arrived, followed by the producer, Mr. Akie Dean. The instruments had been fixed and just as they were tunning their guitars, Nana strutted in, looking cheerful and feeling on top of the morning. 

"Me ma mo Akye ooh" Nana said, 

meaning (Good morning). Exhiliration filled in them and hilarious smile began to steal up in their faces. Nana strapped his guitar and fixed the wah-wah peddle. Rover Amo then whispered to Nana Ampadu, "Just give me a meddley LP, and give me the best, Okey?"

"Right, Amo" Nana Ampadu whispered back. Nana Ampadu turned to the Guys and enunciated,  

"You all know we are Africans, play with an African feeling, Okey?"

 

Mr. Akie Dean took his mic and the electronic device  b o o m e d .........

D o w n l o a d

Koo Nimo Interview with Christopher Lydon & Radio Open Source

I've been on a bit of a Koo Nimo kick lately! If you have a chance, check out this fascinating 2010 interview with Koo Nimo by Christopher Lydon for Radio Open Source. The recording was made at "7:30 a.m. on the last Saturday in January, a warm winter morning in Ghana, and we are privileged to be hanging out for an hour of music and a few well-chosen words with a aristocrat of sound and four accompanists in his studio in Kumasi, the old Ashanti capital." Here, Lydon and Agya Koo discuss the history of highlife/palm wine music, jazz, globalization, the African diaspora, and musical cross-fertilization among other things. In addition, Koo Nimo offers some beautiful (although short) musical performances throughout the interview. I've made the performances alone available for download below.

Koo Nimo - Nwomkro Song

   Okomfo Anokye

Koo Nimo - Akomfo Anokye (Odonson)

Download interview performances

Sunsum Band - Disco Spiritual

Here we have a short religious themed album by the great Sunsum Band entitled Disco Spiritual, released in 1981 on Gapophone records. The heart of the Sunsum Band consisted of guitarist, composer & singer Smart Nkansah (pictured on left) and treble singer Agyaaku (on right), who met while both were members of Yamoah's band in the 1960s. You can read more about Sunsum at this earlier post.

Sunsum Band - Ahoboa

I've also included a Youtube video featuring a "sermon" of sorts by none other than Smart Nkansah at the Pentecostal Baptist Church in London. Here, Smart discusses some of his religious themed compositions with the Sweet Talks (Spiritual Ghana), as well as the song "Ahoboa" off the Disco Spiritual Album. This song states: "In case you are called, or you die today, what preparation have you made for yourself? How was your judgement?" Nkansah describes "Ahoboa" as the "number one track" of his career, a song that "speaks to you direct anytime you play it."

On a side note, I'm frustrated by the preacher who introduces Smart Nkansah at the beginning of this video. He states: "You [Smart] were populating the kingdom of hell with your music. Now thank God you've met the Lord on the way to Damascus and you've changed." I like PREKESEMedia's reaction to this type of attitude on the Youtube page:

"I dont agree with the Pastor's assertion that U were leading people to Hell. No, your music was more than about what he is saying. You educated and promoted social virtues and NEVER promoted vices. Ghanaians need to change their mentality where they stereotype every secular musician as someone who is a SINNER. Who is perfect in this world? Ask the pastor to listen to some of your music to know whether u were promoting SIN as he said."                
                                                     Download Disco Spiritual

Palm Wine Music: Koo Nimo and Osei Korankye at Afrikafestival Hertme

This great 2008 performance by Koo Nimo at Afrikafestival Hertme in the Netherlands has been around Youtube for a while, and now we have another recently posted Youtube video which presents a more complete version of this performance. The always incredible Koo Nimo is joined here by members of his Adadam Agofomma group as well as the seprewa virtuoso Osei Korankye (whose collaboration album with Koo Nimo is available on this blog). The set begins with a seprewa/guitar piece "Abube ne atebe" that features Osei, followed by a beautiful song entitled "Death is everybody's business." The performance concludes with a version of the Ghanaian standard "Yaa Amponsah" that quickly turns into Koo Nimo's own tune "Aburokyire Abrabo" (Overseas Life). In case you're interested, I've posted a full recording of this tune below, along with a translation by Joe Latham from the booklet Ashanti Ballads of Koo Nimo.

On the subject of Koo Nimo, you might like to check out this beautiful, handmade book honoring Agya Koo that was recently acquired by the Smithsonian.  The book is called Listen, listen : Adadam Agofomma : honoring the legacy of Koo Nimo, a collaboration between artists Mary Hark, Atta Kwami, and Koo Nimo himself. An article about the book is on the Smithsonian site here.

Koo Nimo - Aburokyire Abrabo

Aburokyire Abrabo (Overseas Life)

Mother, Oh Mother, your son has made a terrible journey.
Now I am stranded overseas.
Darkness has encircled me.
There can be no witness to what I endure alone.

An unsuccesful mission is a disgrace,
So how can we come hone?
If you fail, no child is named after you.
Death is preferable to shame.

Everyone has reasons for leaving his native land.
Some travel to study, or to marry.
Some go as tourists, some look for jobs.
Some seek medical treatment.

Some return, but others die overseas.
What a tragedy that is.
Why should this be?
It is our individual destiny.
Life has its bad times we have to pass through.

The cold weather gets so bitter men lose their senses.
Poverty, family problems, illness and accidents
All aggravate the stranger's sad state.
Married or single, life is not pleasant in a foreign land.

Bad company, gossip, rumours, misunderstandings,
So many troubles could be settled by speaking to the family.
There is but one consolation:
Namely that travel brings wisdom to men.

Spirits of our Ancestors,
Gods of our Ancestors,
Watch over our brothers abroad.
Let them return home safely.
To live in Europe is to understand this lament. 

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/latham/koonimo/ashball.htm

Uhuru Dance Band - The Sound of Africa (Agoro, 1975)

The Uhuru Dance Band's rare, 1975 album The Sound of Africa was recently posted in full by an ebay seller last month. Released on Kwadwo Donkoh's Agoro label, this unique album blends funk, American soul/jazz, highlife, and dance-band music much in the same vein as the Ogyatanaa Show Band (you may recongnize the Uhuru's "Yahiya Mu" which was featured on the Ghana Special compilation). Accordingly, this unique sound was largely driven by saxophonist George Amissah (Uhuru's then band leader) and Kwadwo Donkoh, who worked as a composer, arranger, and musician on this album as well as Ogyatanaa's Yerefrefre and Obra Mu Asem. At the same time, much of the lead singing on The Sound of Africa (as well as the two Ogyatanaa albums) is recognizably performed by the same individual (see "I Know My Mission" for an example). Unfortunately this singer's name remains a mystery, as does the actual relationship between this album, Kwadwo Donkoh, and the Ogyatanaa Show Band. Of course, any additional information would be greatly appreciated.


Considering the high prices that old, rare & funky Ghanaian records routinely fetch on websites like ebay (anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars), these low-quality sample recordings may very well represent the only opportunity for most of us to hear albums like the Uhuru's The Sound of Africa. Here, I've posted the album in full for your downloading convenience as offered on ebay, with track titles added and problematic clicks/skips cleaned up. However, some questions remain. For one thing, what is the correct order of the eleven tracks? Secondly, are any readers able/willing to submit a photo of the album's back cover? This would certainly clear up the question of the track order and potentially provide some additional background info.

In the meantime, take some time to enjoy this unique and diverse album.

Download

 
Update: Thanks to Akwaboa, here's a scan of this album's back cover. Track order is now revealed, along with song translations and background info about Kwadwo Donkoh/Uhuru. Excellent!

Alex Konadu - Mewu Ama Wo

More great music from one of my favorites, legendary highlife musician Alex Konadu AKA "One Man Thousand," who passed away earlier this year.  Beautiful singing, intricate guitar work, and deep Akan harmonies here on Mewu Ama Wo. You can read more about Konadu's life and music HERE at ModernGhana.com.

Download

Alex Konadu - Nsem Nyinaa Nyame

Wulomei - Walatu Walasa (Agoro, 1974)

Top from left to right: Leader Nii Tei Ashitey with osrama drum, lead singer Maa Amanua, and Nii Adu "Big Boy" on gome drum.

Ga cultural highlife emerged during the 1970s as an urban, neo-traditional popular music form.  The Gas are an ethnic minority in Ghana (where Akans dominate over forty percent of the population) yet they remain the majority in Ghana’s capital Accra, as they are the city’s oldest, original inhabitants.  This ethnic group is primarily bound to the costal and the urban realms, as the sea (in particular fishing) has played a central role in livelihood up until the present.  Ga musicians were involved in dance-band highlife since the early 20^th century (this variety of highlife accordingly reflects influences from Ga traditional music), yet it was not until the cultural highlife of the 1970s that Gas put forth their own style of guitar-band music.  This new music represented a desire to go “back to roots” and revive tradition.
     
Ga cultural highlife was largely the creation of drummer Nii Tei Ashitey, who founded the pioneering Ga highlife group Wulomei in 1973.  Both a traditional and dance-band drummer, Ashitey founded Wulomei as a reactionary move against the influx of foreign music into Ghana.  He states his objective as “To bring something out for the youth to progress and to forget foreign music and do their own thing” (Collis, Musicmakers 142).  Inspired by the proto-highlife Ga konkoma groups of the 1940s, the music of Ashitey’s Wulomei encorporates influences from Ga traditional music, Kru sea shanties, work songs, and Akan guitar-band music.  Wulomei’s original sparse lineup consisted of traditional percussion instruments (bells, rattles, drums), a single guitar, and a chorus of several male and female singers.  Here, the percussion section is emphasized heavily, while singing is modeled after the group call and response singing of a traditional dance/drum ensemble both in terms of form and vocal technique.  Accompanying the chorus of singers is the guitar, adding a highlife dimension to a style which might otherwise sound very much like traditional music.   

Nii Adu (AKA "Big Boy") playing Gome

The term “Wulomei” itself refers to traditional Ga priests, and the band members of Wulomei self-consciously dress in the same white cloth/hats of Wulomei priests. In this way, the band’s name and dress are strategically used to represent deep roots in the Ga community and connections with traditional music/life.  In the same manner, quintessentially Ga drums are used in cultural highlife as a means to signify ethnic ties and connections with tradition.  The gome drum is a central instrument in the ensemble, a large bass frame drum which is sat upon while played.  The musician is able to change the tone of the drum by moving his feet across the drum’s head.  In addition, the osrama drum appears frequently in Ga cultural highlife.  This skinny, high-pitched stick drum may by found in the courts of Ga kings (Mantse), where it is used as a “talking drum.” 

Wulomei - Menye Menye

Walatu Walasa (1974) is Wulomei's second album, following Mibe Shi Dinn released earlier that same year.  Released on Kwadwo Donkoh's Agoro records label, Walatu Walasa features many of Wulomei's biggest hits, including "Akrowa," "Kaafo," and the title track. John Collins writes: "Walatu Walasa means in Twi that 'you are digging and then shoveling it away,' implying that only an idiot would do both. Walatu Walasa has become a popular phrase at a time when large numbers of workers have been employed by the government to build drains in Accra. To greet a laborer with this term is to insult him, for it demeans manual labor" ("Ghanaian Highlife" p. 67). These Wulomei songs (and those of other Ga groups like Dzadzeloi, Suku Troupe, Ashiedu Keteke, Abladei, etc.) continue to be relevant and popular in Ghana today, where they may be heard playing over the radio and from street-side speakers in Accra.  At the same time, Wulomei remains in existence with a lineup of all new members, now lead by Ashitey's daughter and son.

Download Walatu Walasa

Female singers of Wulomei