I revived Benn loxo with some Nigerian 70s rock courtesy of Soundway yesterday, so we’ll continue along a similar path with another in my long series of Original Music posts.

Today’s tracks come off one of my favourite Original Music releases that I’ve heard to date, Azagas & Archibogs - The Sixties Sound Of Lagos. The compilation features a collection of Nigerian Igbo, Yoruba and other highlife groups from Lagos. The songs have been (slightly) remastered from 45rpm records released during the early to mid-1960s.

It’s interesting to hear some good Yoruba highlife from this period, before Juju and Afrobeat took over. Most of the Nigerian highlife I know is from the Igbo east of the country, a region that for me, maybe aside from Ghana, produced Africa’s best music during the 1960s. However, it’s clear after listening to this compilation that Lagos’ Yoruban groups definitely had a good thing going as well.

Charles Iwegbue & His Archibogs - Okibo
Eric Akaeze & His Azagas - Adunni

Today we have the fifth edition of the Highlife Turntable by Benn loxo listener, ubulujaja:

For this volume of the highlife turntable I have selected three Ghanaian tracks to feature.

The first song is Meyee Owuo Den by the group Nana Takyi and his sunkwa international band. The song is off the mid 70’s release Maria. The tight interplay between the vocalists and the extended guitar playing are the things to check out. The word Sunkwa means “Cry for Life” in Twi. Sterns Music used to carry an Atakora Manu CD called Sunkwa that had the same kind of up tempo pop Ghanaian musical style.

I am still grooving on Bob Cole’s music and this track, which I found on his late 70’s release Highlife Akwantua LP, is called Amanfo. The song has the same great boisterousness that I have found in other songs by Bob Cole and the piano playing really stands out. Check-out the solo piano at the opening sequence and then the jump style call-and-response the piano gets into with the horns later in the song. As always, the backup vocals are impeccable. I think the term Amanfo refers to a Ghanaian tribe or cultural group.

The last song is Ahafo KuKuom by the great T.O. Jazz off his LP, Agyapa Ye. I liked the rootsy quality of the vocals and the punchy backbeat.

I hope you like the music.

Thanks, ubulujaja. Great music, as always.

Nana Takyi and his Sunkwa International Band - Meyee owuo den
Bob Cole - Amanfo
T.O. Jazz of Ghana - Ahafo Kukuom

Did you see this article on the BBC the other day? Am I the only one who thinks that the abundance of titles adds to the amazing flavour of contemporary Nigerian life? Seriously, earned or bought, Nigerian title-giving is just another example of the colour we often lack out West. Plus, I would love if my colleagues started calling me Dr. Chief Engineer Matt, Esquire.

Anyway, I’ve never posted any King (Chief) (Dr.) Oliver de Coque on Benn loxo before, so today we’ll hear one of his tracks grabbed off a good compilation, Lagos Chop Up.

I didn’t make up the Chief, King or Doctor part. de Coque earned his Doctor title when the University of New Orleans awarded him an honorary doctorate in music in 1994. The King title came when he was crowned the King of Highlife music by the Alaafin of Oyo. Not sure where the Chief came in, but he refers to himself using this title too.

Oliver de Coque, born plain-old Oliver Sunday Akanite, is a Nigerian musician famous for his Ogene highlife music and untiring promotion of his native Igbo culture. His break came in 1979 when his single, People’s Club Ka anyi bili be ndu, sold two million copies. He kept at it and has released a stream of successful recordings over several decades.

I picked the second track because my favourite Wolof proverb, aside from benn loxo du taccu, is danka ndanka mooy jaapa golo si nahi. It translates into “slowly, slowly, you catch a monkey in the bush.” In other words, chill-out, guy. Take it easy. It’s August. This is the Ikenga Super Stars of Africa’s advice to you in their own pidgin way.

ps- That’s the Emir of Katsina in Nigeria top-left. More pictures of African royalty here.

pps- Benn loxo reader, Kevin, is heading to Ghana. Any tips for live music venues, record shops, festivals or good things to check-out music-wise?

Oliver de Coque & his Expo ‘76 - The Tragedy Story of Two Friends
Ikenga Super Stars of Africa - Soffry Soffry Catch Monkey

More today from the seemingly endless of supply of great music on the Original Music series.

Today’s tracks come from the compilation, I’ve Found My Love: 1960’s Guitar Band Highlife of Ghana.

“King” Kwabena Onyina is one of the unsung heroes of Ghanaian guitar band highlife. He was well-known in his native Ghana during the 1950s, 60s and 70s for his guitar playing, great voice and catchy songwriting.

The “King” bit is a title he earned from winning a guitar competition in 1961. (You can thank the unsung hero of African music reviews, Banning Eyre, for that factoid.)

I know nothing about the Royal Brothers. Anyone care to fill us in?

Have a nice weekend.

King Onyina - Manya Me Dofo
Royal Brothers - Ohia Woa Enwu

A couple weeks ago Benn loxo reader, Andrew, hooked me up with a couple more precious Original Music compilations. Man, they’re always such a step above pretty much anything else out there covering the same eras.

Telephone Lobi is a compilation of 1960s Ghanaian danceband highlife released in 1995 by Original Music. The Lobi, by the way, are an ethnic group who speak a language of the same name in Ghana. They’re known for fiercely resisting French colonialism back in the day… with poisoned arrows. Ouch.

Anyway, for today’s post I picked a track by the Red Spots that I love, a track by the Professional Beach Melodians because they have an amazing name, and a third by Police Band #1 because they also have an amazing name plus I think we should all dance on this rainy day.

We’ve been posting danceband highlife and Original Music tracks on Benn loxo since ‘04 so I won’t bore you with the details. But remember: they’re out of print so grab ‘em whenever you can.

As it happens, the music on Telephone Lobi goes really well with another, totally different, group I’ve been into lately: Quantic. I’m really bummed I can’t make their show at the Maroquinerie on June 30th. If you’re in Paris it’s a must-see. But hey, I’ll be somewhere between Argentina and Bolivia, so who’s complaining!

Red Spots - Oya Ke Me
Professional Beach Melodians “Uhuru No. 2″ - Akwantu
Police Band #1 - Me Ye Fun
Quantic - When You’re Through

Today we have a fourth guest post by dedicated Benn loxo listener and contributor, ubulujaja:

A lot has been made about the fact Chief Stephen Osadebe was mentored by Zeal Onyia, so I thought I would contribute two tracks from his Philips LP titled Zeals Message to give you an idea of where Osadebe learned his craft and what a first class highlife trumpeter sounded like.

Zeal Onyia was a Nigerian trumpeter with impeccable credentials. In 1953 he went to Ghana and played with ET Mensah in the Tempos Band before moving on to the Spike Anyankor’s Rhythm Band. He came back to Nigeria and along with Bobby Benson, Eddie Okonta and Victor Olaiya became one of the great trumpeters of the golden era of highlife in the 60’s and early 70’s.

While he was probably widely recorded or a sideman in other bands, I have only seen a few of his solo recordings including a track on the Night and Day compilation HighLife HighUp’s, a Tabanasi release titled Zeal Rides Again, a few 45’s and 2 78 recordings on a web site dedicated to Zeal Onyia.

The first song is titled Egbe Ne Lueli and is a good example of the raw energy in a classic highlife song, with vocals followed by alternating horns and percussion solos. The drumming on this tracks is particularly tight and there is a great horn blast by Zeal Onyia midway through the song. The rhythmic chorus makes the 2nd track more afro-beat in nature, but the thready horn solo at the beginning became an signature introduction for highlife musicians and was used to great effect by Charles Iwegbue in his classic song, Ejelunor.

Zeal Onyia - Egbe Ne Lueli
Zeal Onyia - Idegbani

Benn loxo listener, curm, asked in the comments of the last post whether young people were still producing guitar highlife in Ghana. The general consensus seems to be: not much.

That said, highlife influence still pops up in contemporary releases every now and again. For example, CC Smith recently hooked me up with a copy of the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International’s latest release. This Chicago-based band led by guitarist Nathaniel Braddock has an old-school African sound that incorporates elements of highlife, soukous and rumba, plus some contemporary twists.

There have been a lot of bad highlife, rumba and African salsa revival bands, particularly synth-based ones in the mid-80s, but the Occidental Brothers pull it off. The guitar work is spot on and they lay on some subtle effects to get that 1960s recording feel to the music as well.

This kind of contemporary throwback to classic West African music also serves as a nice tribute to one of its pioneers, Nigerian highlife legend Chief Steven Osita Osadebe. He passed away last week at the age of 71. The influence of his music obviously lives on.

Occidential Brothers Dance Band International - Komokosaka
Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe - Onu Kwulunjo

Lately I’ve really been into the Bokoor Beats compilation by Professor John Collins.

Professor Collins has been active in the Ghanaian music scene since the late 60s. He’s not a Ghana native but has lived there for over 30 years and continues to be an important member of the musical community.

Over the years his Bokoor Studios in Accra has recorded hundreds of afrobeat, electric highlife and palmwine musicians. He’s worked with people you’ve heard here before, like TO Jazz. His own Bokoor Band also had some great releases in the 1970s, including one of the tracks I’ll post today.

Bokoor Beats is a collection of some of these remastered releases. You can grab it on Calabash - a definite must have for afrobeat, highlife and palmwine fans.

Bokoor Band - Onukpa Scwarpo
TO Jazz - Onam Bebe Basa

Last night I went to a great Cowboys Fringants show at the Elysée Montmartre. A little blast from home.. though there weren’t exactly many Canadian flags in sight.

Most of you are probably familiar with many Québecois’ ill-fated struggle for independence from Canada. As a friend put it last night, “I totally understand why they want to leave, but at the same time I really hope they stay.” That pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter, especially as (one of the few) English Canadians who can speak French well. Either way, after two referendum losses it doesn’t look like Canada is going to lose Québec any time soon. Tant mieux…

The Igbo people of the Biafran region in south-eastern Nigeria also had a hard go at separation, but they didn’t exactly get the benefit of referendums and peaceful dialog. Instead, the Biafran war for independence was one of the more gruesome conflicts in recent African history.

Biafra actually existed as a self-proclaimed independent republic for about three years, from 1967 until 1970. It never got officially recognized by enough countries, however, and Nigeria had the big-guy backing of the UK and the Soviet Union.

Nigeria eventually reclaimed the territory by blocking all access to supplies, notably food. Thousands (maybe millions - no one really knows) died as a result of the blockade and the Biafrans were forced into surrender.

It may seem a bit extreme to do a musical pairing of Igbo and Quebecois music, but the two cultures share a lot in common: a history of feeling repressed by a very culturally different majority and an ongoing, low-level fight for independence.

I don’t know the name of the Oriental Brothers track. Can anyone identify it?

Oriental Brothers - Unknown
Les Cowboys Fringants - Les Etoiles Filantes

Today we have a third highlife installment from Benn loxo listener, ubulujaja:

“Lord Bob Cole (who may also have been known as Bob Johnson) was a Ghanaian comedian, songwriter, and actor who was a veteran of the Ghanaian Concert Party scene of the 1950’s where highlife music was mixed with comic dramatizations of local events. I first heard his music on the 1970’s C.K. Mann and Bob Cole release Osode: African Hot Highlife Rhythms and started making an effort to track down anything I could by him. The song Kekerebtire is a Nzima song off a Decca 45 release probably done in the mid to late 60’s. The structure of the song is classic highlife with the opening horns blast and interwoven guitar and percussion solos, but the punchy nature of the vocals make the song stand out and are delivered with a sort of vaudevillian boisterousness that must have characterized the concert party scene. For more information on the Ghana Concert Party Theatre you should check out Catherine M. Cole’s book Ghana Concert Party Theatre.

I don’t know much about Muchacha Imuzor as there are no liner notes or list of performers on any of the LP’s I have managed to find, but he did a number of good Ukwauni styled highlife records in the 70’s for the EMI Label. The song Anazo Eze is a 16 minute track off an LP of the same name. His vocals have a distinctive urgency that bring together the rhythms of the guitar, percussion instruments and chorus to make a solid Ukwauni praise song.”

Thanks as always for the post, ubulujaja.

Bob Cole and his Music Makers - Kekerebtire
Muchacha Imuzor - Anazo Eze

Original Music certainly make the shortlist for best album name for their 1995 Orlando Owoh release, Dr. Ganja’s Polytonality Blues.

I’s a classic four track mix of mid-70s Nigerian juju-highlife stuffed with psychedelic riffs and slow burning melodies. The track I picked for today makes a sweet switch at about the five minute mark, catching your ears off guard as you two-toke it around.

Orlando Owoh has been playing music in Nigeria since the mid-1950s. In his heyday he was one of Decca’s best-selling artists, and is known for being one of the key pioneers of the juju-highlife movement during the 1970s. He suffered a stroke in 2005 but, as far as I know, is doing alright now.

Thanks to Benn loxo listener, Flecton, for sending this my way.

Orlando Owoh - Emi Wa Wa Lowo Re, Alun Gbere Wa De

Been doing a lot of home living and home cooking lately. Today’s track is especially great for when you’re chopping onions.. knife in my left, glass of red in my right, highlife-ing around the kitchen.

You can hear this tune on the Art Hurts release, The Old Highlife. It’s the baby of Art Hurts Records’ Nashville native, Beston Barnett. He went to Ghana on his Honeymoon and ended up studying guitar with Nana Opoku Agyemang. Three weeks into the lessons he managed to convince his new teacher to record an album with long-time friend, Amankwah “Roadmaster” Ntori.

You might recognize Agyemang’s guitar from, among others, F Kenya’s Band that we heard here before on one of Ulubujaja’s guest posts. And in case you’re wondering, Roadmaster gets his name from his mom since he used to walk for miles on foot.

Roadmaster & Agyemang - Akwasi Broni

Today veteran Benn loxo guest poster, ubulujaja, returns with some more hard to find 1970s highlife:

“F. Kenya was born in the Ghanaian town of Asima in the Eastern Nzema District. Trained as a goldsmith, he started singing in the mid 60’s with the Ahamanos band and later joined Kaikaiku’s No. 1 band before going out his own in the late 70’s. He was one of the first popular singers to sing in his native Nzema language and the energy in his vocals and performances made him very popular in Ghana and neighboring Ivory Coast. F. Kenya moved to the Ivory Coast in the early 80’s and did a number of LP’s including the great LP’s Powerhouse Vol 1 and Vol 2. A few F. Kenya tracks have appeared in the Gun and Guitar compilations Vol 1 and 2 put out by John Booker, but nothing else has been available in the West. The song Ngaluka Ngaluka is from a 1977 Essiebon release of the same name. His nephew is the famous Cote de Voire musician Meiway.

Master Bob Akwaboah started out in the early 60’s with Kwaa Mensah’s band, then joined Dr. K. Gyasi’s band as a vocalist before forming the Akwaboah’s guitar band in 1963. A prolific musician he put out more than 50 45’s during the 60’s and a number of LP’s. I first heard his music on one his early 80’s release Hwe Mibi Nako. This LP is worth tracking down because the great Ghanaian trumpeter ET Mensah lends a hand along with Sweet Talks bassist Ralph Karikari. While not as well known in the West as bands like the African Brothers and Sweet Talks he was a integral part of the Ghanaian music scene for three decades and his music is a prime example of the down tempo guitar band sound of Ghanaian music in the 70’s and 80’s and deserves wider recognition. The track Mihune A Anka Manba is from the B-side of an Executive release titled Wayge Wodee Anaa. The record does not list a release date, but I would guess sometime in the late 70’s.”

Thanks again for the music, ubulujaja.

F. Kenya - Ngakula ngakula
Master Bob Akwaboah and his Supreme Internationals - Wayge Wodee Anna (Maye Dada)

Today’s guest post will hopefully be the first in a series called In my ears: The highlife listening booth by Benn loxo listener, Ubulujaja.

“This month these two highlife tracks recently caught my ear:

Bob Fred: Okolobie Special

An important Ukwani highlife guitarist, Bob Fred appears to have been at the center of the Ukwani highlife music scene of the late 70s and early 80s. He played lead guitar on Rogana Ottah classic 1st LP Ukwani Special in 1976, fronted for well known Ukwani highlife bands like the International Brothers and the Ndokwa Super International Band, and released several LPs under his own name.

I found the song Okolobie Special to be a good example of Bob Fred’s music. The opening features an up-tempo guitar and horn segment that sets the stage for the vocalists to launch into an eight minute cavalcade of call and response vocals. While the guitar playing clearly echoes Rogana Ottah style, the vocals have a rawer, earthier feel. The lead vocalist is listed as Paddy and the chorus is led by Show Scatter (who also appeared on the Ukwani Special LP) and someone named as George. Okolobie appears to be a town in the River State. A solid Uwkani highlife number.

Prince A.E. Amgabaduba: Tamarau Au Na

Tamarau Au Na is a song by Prince A.E. Amgabaduba. I don’t know much about the performer or how to classify his music style, except to say I always liked Prince A.E. Amgabaduba’s style of vocalization and have only been able to find a few tracks where all the depth and beauty of his singing really comes out. The 18 minute song Seikiriemelemor on the Highlife Specialist LP is his masterpiece, but this shorter song gives you a good idea of what his vocals are all about.

Hope you enjoy the music…

Ubulujaja”

Thanks for the music and info. I’m looking forward to future editions.

Bob Fred & Ukwuani Brothers - Okolobie Special
Prince A. E. Amgabaduba & his Amazuo’s Band of Nigeria - Tamarau Na

While German and Polish fans run around throwing bottles at the police in Dortmund, the Ghanaians are dancing around fountains in Stuttgart. The Black Star fans that I’ve seen here and in Munich have great spirit.

So why not give them something to dance to? Some highbeat from one of Ghana’s great musicians, CK Mann, and some highlife from TO Jazz.

We heard CK Mann before singing one of my favourite tunes to come out of 1970s Africa, Funky Hi-Life, and TO Jazz you might have heard on this post featuring that solid compilation, Vintage Palm Wine.

Go Ghana!

CK Mann - Nyimpa Rebre
TO Jazz - Agyeman Baidoo

I have to be in the right kind of mood to listen to highlife. Drunk on palm wine? Yeah, bring it on. Earphones in, on a beach, sipping a coconut? Absolutely. Slightly hung-over late Sunday afternoon with a glass of Chablis after some modern ballet? Fuck yeah.

Old-time Benn loxo listeners know the deal about highlife, so I won’t bore you with too many details. The genre is still enormously popular both in and outside of Africa. It’s easy to see why; its laid-back rhythms, simple melodies and happy feel give it a universal good-vibe quality.

Highlife music makes me think about my friend Dulue in Lagos, Nigeria. When I was but an African music pup I would pepper him with questions about Nigerian music. He’d lean-back and his eyes would glaze-over as he remembered his highlife music past: Jim Lawson, Celestine Ukwu, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe… These are some of the older kings of the genre, while more contemporary highlife musicians usually just copy the music of the elders. That’s fine by me since the sound ages well. If I play some hard-core fuji to my kids in 10 years, however, they might look at me kinda funny.

Today’s track comes off one of the stronger highlife compilations out there, The Kings Of Highlife, put together by Wrasse Records. It’s a good survey of 1960s and 70s highlife music from Nigeria and Ghana. Paulson Kalu from today’s pick is an Igbo from Nigeria who played with the best of them during the golden age of West African highlife music. If you like what you hear you can get some of his albums at Stern’s.

Have a nice, lazy Sunday.

Paulson Kalu - Okwudili

I finally checked-out The Constant Gardener and really enjoyed it. In my opinion both this and Lord of War do a good job of portraying some of the darker sides of sub-Saharan African life.

A few people I spoke with thought that the movies were too negative and further reinforced negative stereotypes of life in Africa. I can see how you can argue that, but I think it’s fair of me to say that I’ve seen corruption and extreme poverty first-hand in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and a host of other African countries, and that it’s not pretty. So maybe it’s a good idea to educate your average Western movie-going joe public about the true realities of every day life for millions of Africans. In my opinion these movies paint a much more accurate picture of sub-Saharan African life than a weepy Worldvision commercial or whatever other exposure most people get.

This reminds me: if you want to read a first-hand account from the perspective of a child growing up in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War, you should check-out my friend Dulue Mbachu’s recently released book, War Games. You can buy it on Amazon. More information about Dulue and the book are available at the publisher’s web site.

So I guess it’s now time to turn our attention to some positive sides of life from the continent. Happy-sounding Nigerian highlife springs to mind. Re-released by (the now defunct?) AfroStrut records in the UK in 2000, Orlando Julius and His Modern Aces’ 1966 album, Super Afro Soul, is a classic.

Julius’ style mixes his mid-60s Nigerian highlife with American rnb. This is best represented in their funny, if not so musically amazing, rendition of The Temptations’ My Girl.

If you’re into this album also check-out the 2004 Ekosound release, Orlando Julius & his Afro Sounders - Orlando’s Afro Ideas.

Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces - Olulofe
Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces - My Girl

When I was in Boston a few weeks ago K surprised me with a great gift: Celestine Ukwu. Now, if you’re a big music guy like myself I don’t think there’s anything sexier than a cute girl with good taste in West African highlife. Thanks, Kate.

During the 1960s Rex Lawson and a host of other Igbos popularized highlife music before it fell out of favour during the civil war of 1967-70. By the mid-1970s, however, the Nigerian highlife scene had started up again with bands like the Oriental Brothers, Prince Nico and perhaps most importantly, Celestine Ukwu.

Ukwu’s style is slightly different from that of his contemporaries; he was apparently a soft-spoken, relaxed kind of guy and this is reflected in the music he plays. You’ll hear slower rhythms and even things like steel slide guitar poking up from beneath the palmwine acoustic. Even the name of his band is pretty chilled-out: Professor Celestine Ukwu and the Philosophers National. Why don’t bands give themselves names like that anymore?

You can pick-up today’s track at Stern’s on Celestine Ukwu Best Collection Volume 1.

Celestine Ukwu - Ife Sina Chi

With an egg nog aftertaste and wrapping paper all over the floor, Benn Loxo is back…

In 1973 highlife music was in trouble. The old-school were being pushed out the door by cheap disco and funk music from Nigeria and the States. Lucky for us a group of young highlife believers refused to let it die. Some started trying new forms of guitar-heavy highlife, dropping the horns and slow-dance rhythms of old in favour of a faster, harder music. Others created new forms of highlife-funk fusion. It was almost afrobeat, but still highlife. A new funky twist on a great sound.

One of these funk stars is Charles Kofi Amankwaa Mann (C. K. Mann) from Ghana. He took the traditional Ghanaian osode highlife beat and remixed it for the new generation. Add some whriling organ, fat bass lines and highlife harmonies and you get some seriously cool new music.

C. K., as he’s known in Ghana, is a self-taught guitarist and ex-sailor. He got his break playing for Kakaiku’s Guitar Band in the 60s. Once he established himself he started his own band, The Carousel 7. They had a mega-hit in ‘69, Edina Brenya, which propelled C. K. into stardom. It’s around this time that C. K. began to develop his new osode sound and incorporate disco and funk into highlife.

Today’s track was released in 1975 as part of a long-playing party LP. It was a big it, and directly responsible for reigniting the public’s waning interest in highlife music. Personally I listen to it while washing the dishes (combined with dancing) after a few glasses of wine and a good party.

ps- During the 80s C. K. Mann saved highlife again, but this time by mixing its traditions with gospel music. In present-day Ghana highlife is alive and well, though gospel-highlife is the sound of the moment thanks in part to people like Mann.

C. K. Mann - Funky Hi-Life

A few posts ago I mentioned that highlife started out as more of a big-band thing, ie orchestras and horn sections rather than rhythm guitars. Something about my Monday morning coffee makes this kind of sound fit the bill for today’s post.

The Broadway Dance Band is a classic big-band highlife group out of 1950s/60s Ghana. I wish it was easier to find bands and concerts featuring this kind of music these days since if you put a few whiskeys in me I love dancing to the stuff. High-heeled ladies and guys in white-collared shirts wilting in the humidity, sleeves rolled up.

Got this track off that great 1972 pan-African compilation, Africa Dances. I was going to post another track off this album today but I’m a touch shy on bandwidth so I might wait until tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Broadway Dance Band - Broadway Special