Various Artists – Ghana Special: Highlife

Highlife, whose origins reach back to the early 20th century, was the defining popular music of Ghana in the 1950s and 1960s. African rhythmic traditions merged with Caribbean elements, with psychedelic influences added later on. With the five-LP box set Ghana Special, Soundway Records released a monumental anthology in 2009; its essence now appears for the first time in a condensed LP edition.

The spirit of optimism following Ghana’s independence in 1960 permeates the music of these years, as do pan-African ideas, reflected for instance in the name of the Uhuru Dance Band – uhuru being the Swahili word for »freedom«.

With Ebo Taylor’s project Asaase Ase, the compilation also features a veteran of the scene who remains active to this day. Hedzoleh Soundz became widely known through their collaboration with Hugh Masekela, while other acts such as Honny & The Bees Band, of whom only a handful of singles survive, or The Blackstar Sound, whose »Nite Safarie« thrillingly channels Caribbean influences, invite fresh discoveries.