West African Heat

First off, apologies for being so quiet recently, but a recent move has kept me away from the decks and GTA4 has kept me from doing anything remotely constructive for the last month or so 😉

Anyway, this is a belated audio companion to my earlier post on the recent series of excellent compilations on Soundway showcasing the afro scene in 1970s Nigeria. While Nigeria had the biggest modern music scene in the region at the time and also had the best recording studios, it was far from unique as many of the neighbouring countries also had incredibly vibrant scenes, fusing their own musical traditions with the music coming from America, Latin America (especially Cuba), Europe and, of course their various neighbours. In fact, Highlife music, which was one of the first modern West African musics originated in Ghana and they also had a vibrant and diverse afro music scene in the 70s.

Sandwiched between the 2 giants of Nigeria and Ghana are Benin and Togo. Benin is the land where Voodoo comes from. Drums are central to the Voodoo religion, and the contemporary influences of soul, funk, rock, afro-cuban, afrobeat, etc., were fused with the Voodoo traditions to create a unique Beninese sound. It’s a small country but there was a huge amount of quality music being produced there during the 70s, which is really only coming to light now thanks to some great compilations; Soundway released a compilation of Benin’s most famous band T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo in 2004, and this year Analog Africa put out African Scream Contest.

Now, the music! This mix mostly contains music from Nigeria, Ghana and Benin, but also includes tracks from Mali, Senegal, Togo and Guinea. It starts with some highlife and afro-cuban before moving onto heavier funk, afrobeat and afro-rock. The intention was to showcase the diversity of music in the region but to keep a reasonable flow to the mix too. For your interest, I’ve included the countries of origin for each track. And, once again, I want to emphasise that almost all the tracks I’ve featured are readily available on recent compilations, so if you like the music, please support, and go out and buy them!

1. Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National – Okwukwe Na Nchekwube (Nigeria)
2. Orchestra Baobab – Jin Ma Jin Ma (Senegal)
3. Godwin Ezike & The Ambassadors – Torri Wowo (Nigeria)
4. Orchestre Super Jheevs des Paillotes – Ye Nan Lon An (Benin/Togo)
5. Le Simandou de Beyla – Festival (Guinea)
6. K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas – Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena (Ghana)
7. The Funkees – Akula Owu Onyeara (Nigeria)
8. Hygrades – In The Jungle (Instrumental) (Nigeria)
9. Moussa Doumbia – Keleya (Mali)
10. Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – It’s A Vanity (Benin/Togo)
11. S-Job Movement – Love Affair (Nigeria)
12. Bala Miller & The Great Music Pyrameeds Of Afrika – Ikon Allah (Nigeria)
13. T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Hwe Towe Hun (Benin)
14. African Brothers – Self Reliance (Ghana)

West African Heat

It’s about 77 mins long, enjoy!