You can speak of the 60’s or 70’s in hushed hallowed tones, but really the golden period is now. We’ve got so many labels exhaustively scouring various far flung African countries in an effort to find hidden Afro funk and jazz gems from yesteryear that they’re actually competing with each other. This collection focusses on the music of Ghana from between 1968 and 1981. It’s a double disc set that takes in highlife with rock, soul and jazz influences, all of which are previously un re released and culled from obscure bits of vinyl. This material was uncovered during the research for Sound Ways earlier Ghana Soundz compilation that highlighted some of the funkier rare groove floating around during the time. That’s not to say there’s not some ultra funky tunes kicking out on this compilation. Having achieved independence as recent as 1957, there’s a definite high energy exciting feel to the music, the large dance bands gradually being replaced by smaller electric guitars and instrumentation influenced by music from abroad. There’s a real sense of fun, even a little bit of experimentation, with a large focus on the rhythm, but also wah wah guitar, and deep bass, but then they’ll do something like add flute and jews harp (Hedzolleh Sound). And it’s these little ludicrous flourishes that make this collection such genius.
The only name this writer is aware of is Nigerian Fela Kuti who appears with Basa Basa Soundz on the track Dr. Solutsu. Though since he is not singing I can only assume he’s playing sax. Otherwise it’s a collection of a beautiful obscure bands offering some of the most bright upbeat, yet still super cool jazzy grooves that you could ever hope to bear witness to. There are 33 tracks here and not a single is wasted which is rare for a collection this size, and a testament to the quality control of the researchers. The tunes are definitely a product of their time, and sound quite dated, but this is a good thing. If this doesn’t get you moving you should probably check your pulse, it’s almost primal with its deep grinding groove. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Bob Baker Fish
