Barely Breaking Even (BBE) Records continue showcasing some crucial releases which came out in the 1970s and 1980s in West Africa. This one, by singer Jewel Ackah, combines Ghana’s highlife sound with disco and funk with a wildly danceable groove. Incredible, but no surprise coming from BBE.
Indeed, He did, yet as I’m new to the Fra Fra scene in Ghana, if Linda Ayupuka is a good example of what kind of music the genre produces, I think I’m going to like digging into it. The music is a combo of tinny beats, lo-fi disco, and a joyous authenticity to the vocals. African music even with the massive reach it has had over the past few years, needs to continue to branch out into the world consciousness, and this is yet another gem to share with the world.
Ghanian band Alostmen are bursting with energy and come with a sound mixing highlife with a guitar style that reminds me, slightly, of Tuareg playing one could hear with bands like Tinariwen. From the band’s website: Formed by Stevo Atambire and produced by Wanlov (Fok’n Bois) and Percy Yip Tong, Alostmen’s music is based around the Frafra traditions of the kologo, a stringed lute, using traditional instrumentation in entirely new ways. “I like to force my instrument to work,” explains Stevo. “I’m a yout’man and into rap, reggae, Malian music. I add these to the band’s sound.” “I had toured…