Highlife - World Music Network

MUSICROUGHGUIDES
THE ROUGH GUIDE to
Highlife
The punchy party number that opens this
Rough Guide features none other than the
Nigerian legend, Fela Kuti singing out, ‘Its
highlife time’. These days everyone knows
Fela as the Afrobeat superstar supreme.
He is usually pictured in a steamy club with
his shirt off and his sax slung across his
body, intoning his powerful anti-corruption
message. But, in fact, during his early career
Fela played with the band Koola Lobitos,
peddling a different sound: the highlife vibe
heard here. In the opening section, lilting
horn riffs bounce along with percussion and
Fela’s melodious vocal, before a sax and
trumpet take jazz-inflected solos. Hearing
Fela do the highlife thing not only kicks off
the album in style, but also underlines the
hugely important place the genre holds in
the history of popular African music.
Highlife originated in Ghana and Sierra
Leone in the early twentieth century and
was born out of a fusion of American jazz
rhythms and myriad African roots musics.
Originally dance orchestras played the music
to entertain the colonial elite in high-class
clubs along the coast, thus garnering the
nickname ‘highlife’. As the twentieth century
ploughed on, social and cultural changes
across West Africa were reflected in, and
disseminated via, highlife and its derivatives;
guitar-band highlife, gospel-highlife and
disco-highlife are just a few of the styles that
emerged. While this compilation focuses on
hand-picked gems from the highlife archive,
the genre can still be heard influencing a
whole new generation via the urban hip-hop
fusion, hip-life.
The story begins in the early twentieth
century with palmwine, an early rootsy
version of highlife. Under starlit skies,
musicians gathered for backyard sessions
where they swapped songs and stories. At
such meetings, they also drank an alcoholic
drink made from fermented palm sap, from
which the genre takes its name. The music
features gentle acoustic guitar and vocal
lines, and is typically laid-back and lilting in
pace. Septuagenarian musician Koo Nimo
has dedicated his entire career to preserving
the palmwine style. The track ‘Se Wo Nom
Me (Tsetse Fly You Suck My Blood)’ is taken
from a recent recording session, yet is firmly
in the classic palmwine style. Koo’s relaxed
storyteller singing style, layered atop
rolling guitar riffs and offbeat percussion,
seamlessly transports the listener back to
early palmwine. The track was recorded in
his garden at home in Ghana and is instilled
with a quiet, intimate quality.
Next came the dance bands, large orchestral
line-ups with meaty horn sections, guitars
and percussion. By the 1920s, dance bands
based on European military and church
ensembles began to include orchestrated
versions of traditional rhythms and tunes
in their repertoire. Palmwine guitar and
narrative style also fed into this format, and
highlife was born. The Black Beats Highlife
Dance Band heard on this Rough Guide
formed in 1952 under the steady leadership
of saxophonist and composer King Bruce.
Their upfront and vocal-dominated style
secured them a place as one of Ghana’s
leading dance bands for the best part of
sixteen years, until (in 1968) Bruce was
pressured to leave the band by his employers
at the Administrative Civil Service, who
thought his extracurricular musical activities
unsuitable. The band continued with Bruce
as off-stage manager, and released several
charismatic hits, such as ‘Tsutsu Tsosemo
(Old Time Training)’, a march-like tune with
wonderfully drunken-sounding horns, retro
keyboard figures and a catchy chorus line.
During the late 1950s and 1960s, highlife
became a soundtrack to independence in
Ghana and Nigeria. With independence came
a great spirit of optimism and creativity, but
also the harsh realities of economic decline.
Cash-flow problems meant the larger dance
bands became harder to maintain. Combined
with the spreading popularity of the electric
guitar, and African-American rock and
soul music, smaller guitar band line-ups
became the fashion. Nigerian trumpeter and
bandleader Victor Uwaifo was a pioneering
force on the guitar-band scene and can be
heard intoning his own unique brand on
the track, ‘Do Amen Do’. Uwaifo himself
is a fascinating character: aside from his
illustrious musical career, he is a champion
bodybuilder, university professor, sculptor
and proud owner of an unusual extension
to his house – a lounge crafted out of an
old aeroplane. His idiosyncratic guitar style
is instantly recognizable as he picks and
bends his way across the fretboard, leaping
from woozy psychedelic phrases to sharp
staccato figures. Another guitar band led by
Francis Kenya contributes a furiously upbeat
number with ‘Memia (I Am Too Broke)’. Here
looping guitar riffs pulse along at speed,
while a sung vocal cuts across the texture.
During the 1980s, as Ghana underwent
serious civil unrest, gospel-highlife became
a hugely popular idiom. ‘Momma Mo Akoma
Ntutu’ is a wonderfully syrupy gospelhighlife number sung by a full and gutsy
chorus line. The lyrics are largely parts
of the Gospel According to John, sung in
the Akan language. Collins explains the
widespread popularity of gospel-highlife
during the 1980s as a direct result of the
economic decline experienced in Ghana
during the 1970s. In the hope of securing
better employment many musicians left
the country during this time, while many of
those that remained sought patronage from
local churches, which were often happy to
help. This meeting of interests resulted in
an artistic partnership between the sacred
gospel styles and those of secular highlife.
In addition, of course, during this time
strong-held beliefs in Christianity were
also a source of great solace and artistic
inspiration for many.
Recent years have seen many artists
revisit their vintage highlife material
and enjoy renewed success with their
timeless grooves. In 2001, Roadmaster and
Agyemang – who both enjoyed careers as
instrumentalists with highlife bands during
the 1970s – recorded the album The Old
Highlife, chronicling their past hits. ‘Akwasi
Broni’, featuring guitar trio, drums and
Roadmaster’s chalky vocals, is a minimal
tune that is soaked with a cool, bass-heavy
attitude.
This Rough Guide is jam-packed with some
of the biggest hitters in highlife history. Chief
Stephen Osita Osadebe serves a dollop of
Igbo highlife with the upbeat tune ‘Osondi
Owendi’, the lyrics of which are are based
on a proverb that means ‘One man’s meat
is another man’s poison’. Bobby Benson’s
monster hit ‘Taxi Driver’ mixes Caribbean
flavour with jazz and highlife, while Celestine
Ukwu’s signature track, ‘Igede’, riffs along
with dancing percussion and undulating
guitars. Enjoy and explore the sounds of
highlife history on this Rough Guide.
À qui confier le soin d’ouvrir ce Rough Guide,
sinon à la légende nigériane, Fela Kuti?
Celui que tous connaissent aujourd’hui
comme la superstar de l’afrobeat et que l’on
imagine dans un club enfumé, torse nu et
saxo en bandoulière, entonnant un puissant
hymne anticorruption, jouait au début de sa
carrière un style différent - le highlife - avec
le groupe Koola Lobitos. Il interprète ici ‘It’s
highlife time’: dès l’introduction, les riffs
des cuivres rejoignent les percussions et la
voix mélodieuse de Fela avant qu’un saxo et
une trompette ne se lancent dans des solos
teintés de jazz. Choisir d’écouter Fela dans
ce style de musique permet non seulement
de démarrer l’album sur les chapeaux de
roue, mais aussi de souligner la place très
importante du highlife dans l’histoire de la
musique populaire africaine.
Le highlife est né au Ghana et en Sierra
Leone au début du XXème siècle d’une
fusion entre les rythmes de jazz américains
et une myriade de musiques traditionnelles
africaines. A l’origine, des orchestres de
danse jouaient cette musique pour divertir
l’élite coloniale dans les clubs huppés de la
côte, d’où le surnom de «highlife» (grande
vie). Les changements sociaux et culturels
intervenus au XXème siècle se reflètent dans
cette musique et ses dérivés, parmi lesquels
on trouve notamment les groupes de guitare
highlife, le gospel highlife, le disco highlife.
Si cette compilation s’est volontairement
limitée aux joyaux des archives du highlife,
il est toujours possible d’entendre ce style
car il influence une nouvelle génération via
sa fusion avec le hip hop urbain, le hip-life.
L’histoire commence au début du XXème
siècle avec le palmwine, une version brute
du highlife. Des musiciens se réunissent
sous le ciel étoilé pour des sessions où
ils échangent chansons et histoires, et
boivent une boisson alcoolisée, tiré du jus
de palme fermenté, qui donne son nom
au style musical. Une guitare acoustique
et des lignes vocales douces forment la
base de cette musique décontractée, dont
le rythme est généralement chantant. Le
septuagénaire Koo Nimo a consacré toute sa
carrière à préserver ce style. Il a récemment
enregistré ‘Se Wo Nom Me (Tsetse Fly You
Suck My Blood - Mouche tsé tsé, tu suces
mon sang)’, morceau qui reste ancré dans
la tradition du palmwine. Par son talent
de conteur, sur des riffs de guitare et des
percussions à contretemps, Koo transporte
le public au tout début de l’époque du
palmwine. Cette piste a été enregistrée dans
le jardin de sa maison, au Ghana, ce qui
contribue à sa qualité, intime et tranquille.
Puis vinrent les orchestres de danse, de
grands ensembles avec sections de cuivres,
guitares et percussions puissantes. Dans
les années 1920, ces orchestres créés à
partir d’ensembles européens militaires
ou religieux commencent à intégrer à leur
répertoire des versions orchestrées de
rythmes et chansons traditionnels. Le style
narratif et la guitare palmwine s’y ajoutent:
le highlife est né. L’orchestre The Black
Beats Highlife Dance Band, choisi pour
figurer dans ce Rough Guide, s’est formé
en 1952 sous la baguette du saxophoniste
et compositeur King Bruce. Son style
précurseur, dominé par les voix, lui assura
une place de choix parmi les orchestres de
danse ghanéens durant seize ans, jusqu’à
ce qu’en 1968, Bruce soit contraint de
quitter l’orchestre par l’administration qui
l’employait et qui considérait son passetemps musical extra-professionnel comme
inconvenant. L’orchestre poursuivit son
activité avec Bruce comme régisseur et
sortit plusieurs tubes charismatiques, tels
que ‘Tsutsu Tsosemo (Old Time Training)’,
une simili marche, où les cuivres imitent
merveilleusement bien l’ivresse, le clavier
emprunte des accents rétro et la mélodie des
chœurs est particulièrement accrocheuse.
A la fin des années 1950 et au début de la
décennie suivante, le highlife devint le style
de l’indépendance au Ghana et au Nigéria.
L’optimisme et la créativité de cette période
allaient de pair avec la prise de conscience
des dures réalités du déclin économique.
Confrontés à des problèmes financiers, les
plus grands orchestres ne se maintenaient
qu’avec peine. Les groupes de guitares plus
réduits étaient à la mode, en raison de la
popularité croissante de la guitare électrique
et de la musique rock et soul afro-américaine.
Le trompettiste et chef d’orchestre nigérian
Victor Uwaifo en a été un pionnier. Il marque
cette compilation de son empreinte avec
le célèbre «Do Amen Do». Le musicien
est lui-même un personnage fascinant:
outre sa carrière musicale, il fut champion
de bobybuilding, professeur d’université,
sculpteur et heureux propriétaire d’une
maison comportant une extension originale
– un salon conçu à partir d’un vieil avion.
A la guitare, son style idiosyncratique est
reconnaissable dès les premières notes,
passant de mouvements psychédéliques à
de piquantes phrases en staccato. Un autre
groupe de guitaristes, dirigé par Francis
Kenya, contribue à notre compilation, avec le
furieux tube ‘Memia (I Am Too Broke)’. Des
riffs de guitare s’égrènent à grande vitesse,
tandis que les voix se fraient un chemin dans
cette texture.
Dans les années 1980, alors que le Ghana
était en proie à de violents affrontements,
le gospel highlife a connu une grande
popularité. ‘Momma Mo Adoma Ntutu’
illustre ce style: c’est une merveille
sirupeuse, interprétée par un chœur plein
de fougue. Les paroles sont en grande partie
empruntées à l’Evangile selon Saint Jean,
en langue akan. Pour Collins, le succès du
gospel highlife dans les années 80 est à
rattacher au déclin économique vécu par
les Ghanéens dans la décennie précédente.
À cette époque, de nombreux musiciens
furent contraints de quitter le pays pour
trouver un emploi. Ceux qui restaient durent
chercher le soutien des églises, souvent
heureuses d’apporter leur aide. Il résulta de
cette conjonction d’intérêts un partenariat
artistique entre les styles gospel sacrés et
le highlife profane. De plus, en ces temps
difficiles, la foi chrétienne constituait
naturellement pour beaucoup de Ghanéens
une source de réconfort et d’inspiration
artistique.
Plus récemment, de nombreux artistes
ont revisité leurs morceaux highlife et
connu de nouveau le succès avec leurs
grooves intemporels. En 2001, Roadmaster
et Agyemang, deux membres de groupes
highlife dans les années 1970, ont
enregistré l’album The Old Highlife, où ils
reprennent leurs anciens tubes. ‘Akwasi
Broni’, interprété par un trio de guitares,
de percussions et la voix rugueuse de
Roadmaster, est une œuvre minimale
empreinte d’une atmosphère cool où les
basses sont très présentes.
Ainsi, ce Rough Guide est plein des plus
grands tubes de l’histoire du highlife. Chief
Stephen Osita Osadebe nous sert une
bonne rasade de highlife Igbo avec ‘Osondi
Owendi’, dont les paroles paraphrasent le
proverbe «ce qui est une nourriture pour
l’un est un poison pour l’autre». L’énorme hit
de Bobby Benson ‘Taxi Driver’ mélange les
sons caribéens au jazz et au highlife, alors
que Celestine Ukwu signe ‘Igede’ et associe
aux percussions expressives des guitares
ondulantes. Explorez et savourez le highlife !
FELA RANSOME-KUTI AND HIS KOOLA
LOBITOS – Superstar Fela hailed from
Nigeria, and changed the face of West African
popular music with his unique, instructive
brand of Afrobeat. This track showcases
early Fela in highlife mode with his band the
Koola Lobitos. He originally formed the band
while studying in London, and then moulded
another reincarnation of the line-up upon
his return to Nigeria. The track showcases
Fela’s skill as a bandleader and composer,
but isn’t soaked to the bone with the political
radicalism of his later tracks. At this point, in
the mid-1960s, Fela was still happy to simply
‘jump for joy at the swinging club’.
DESMOND ABABIO, LEWIS WADAWA &
BLACK BEATS HIGHLIFE DANCE BAND – The
personnel of the Black Beats Highlife Dance
Band changed a lot over their years in the
spotlight. Yet, under the steady leadership
of King Bruce, they consistently remained
a popular band across Ghana. ‘Tsutsu
Tsosemo (Old Time Training’ was recorded at
John Collins’ Bookor Studio in the late 1980s
and was subsequently released locally on
cassette.
GENTLEMAN BOBBY BENSON – ‘Taxi Driver’
by Bobby Benson was a smash hit with
Nigerian audiences, who were enthralled
by the unique blend of Caribbean, big-band
and highlife flavours. As well as holding
a place in the pantheon of highlife kings,
Bobby was also a seasoned comedian and
regularly performed stand-up and magic
tricks alongside his infectious highlife
tunes. He also struck up friendships with
the international blues and jazz stars B.B.
King and Hugh Masekela, and opened his
own nightclub in Lagos, the Caban Bamboo –
later widely known as ‘Hotel Bobby’.
SWEET TALKS – The Sweet Talks formed
in 1973 and recorded the album Hollywood
Highlife Party in 1976. ‘Juliana’ taken from
that album, is a tongue-in-cheek love song
recounting the singer’s obsession with a girl
who strangely resembles his sister. Many of
the members of the Sweet Talks, such as
A. B. Crentsil and Eric Agyeman, went on
to become huge highlife stars in their own
right.
ROADMASTER & AGYEMANG – Amankwah
Ntori and Nana Opoku Agyemang each
enjoyed successful careers as musicians
in highlife bands such as Francis Kenya’s
Guitar Band (also featured on this Rough
Guide) and the fantastically named, Beach
Scorpions. They first met the American
producer and guitarist, Beston Barnett
while he was travelling in Ghana on his
honeymoon. Soon, the trio had struck up a
great friendship and after just three weeks
embarked on recording an album of old
highlife hits. ‘Akwasi Broni’ is taken from
that album, The Old Highlife.
FRANCIS KENYA’S GUITAR BAND – This
band skilfully mix up casual, highlife
grooves with the devilishly fast guitar riffs
of Congolese soukous. Lyrically, the band
often tackled social issues such as poverty
and financial struggles. This style of making
social commentary to a backdrop of music is
commonly known as concert-party highlife.
CHIEF STEPHEN OSITA OSADEBE –
Osadebe’s musical style was known as Igbo
highlife, and he is considered a Nigerian
musical legend, with a successful career
spanning over forty years. ‘Osondi Owendi’
was a monster hit – reportedly the biggestselling record in the history of Nigerian
music. The title of the track is a moral,
meaning ‘One man’s meat is another man’s
poison’.
SIR VICTOR UWAIFO - Sir Victor Uwaifo, as
he is affectionately known, is famed for his
zany performances. Hailing from Nigeria, he
mixes in elements of highlife with twists of
African-American funk and traditional roots
music’s. ‘Do Amen Do’ is Uwaifo in laid-back
mode, yet still showcases a great extended
solo from the master himself, followed
by a wonderfully interlocking percussive
interlude.
CELESTINE UKWU – Ukwu’s gentle music is
renowned for its laid-back riffs and swooning
guitar bends. ‘Igede’ was his signature song
and is a largely instrumental tune based on
Igbo folklore. Tragically, Celestine died in a
car crash aged just 39. His evocative, delicate
music is a treasure that survives him.
KOO NIMO - Koo Nimo was born in 1934 in
the Ashanti region of Ghana. For a period
of his childhood he lived in the house of his
brother-in-law, a member of the Asante
royal family. This formative experience
grounded him in Asante tradition and,
combined with his natural musical ability,
set the foundations for a career dedicated
to promoting and preserving local culture
via his music. Now approaching his eighties,
Koo is as musically active as ever and is still
enthusiastically spreading the palmwine
groove worldwide.
PROFESSIONAL SEAGULLS DANCE BAND –
This band were formerly known as the Rivers
Men, and were backup band to the highlife
superstar Rex Lawson. After their leader’s
death in 1971, the band decided to go it
alone and released a string of hits, including
‘Atabala Woman’. David Bull’s casually
sung drawl, plus a hot and scrunchy brass
section complement each other perfectly
on this irresistibly danceable track. In live
performances the band would fulfil the
connotations of their fantastically surreal
band name with on stage seagull props.
DR. VICTOR OLAIYA – Nicknamed the ‘Evil
Genius of Highlife’, trumpet player Victor
Olaiya was a force to be reckoned with on the
Nigerian scene in the 1950s and 1960s. Olaiya
grew up in Calabar, and was the 20th child
from a family of 24. In his youth he moved to
Lagos, began his career as a musician and
never looked back. He played with both Fela
Kuti and Tony Allen in their early days, and
is often cited as an artist that straddles the
link between highlife and Afrobeat. His later
recordings feature James Brown-esque
screams and grunts and funky, relentlessly
driving rhythm sections. ‘Pariboto Riboto’
though, is a great vintage dance number
that is demonstrative of a deep Afro-Cuban
influence on Olaiya also.
GENESIS GOSPEL SINGERS – The chorus
heard on this swinging vocal track features
a full and robust line-up. From the plodding
deep voices in the bass to some of the nasaltoned high voices, this is an ensemble with
a strong, distinctive tone. During the 1990s
there was estimated to be about 800 active
gospel groups, many of which were playing
a variant of highlife. This track was recorded
at Bokoor Studios, which were owned by the
musicologist John Collins.
01 FELA RANSOME-KUTI AND HIS KOOLA
LOBITOS Highlife Time
from the album KOOLA LOBITOS/THE LOS
ANGELES SESSIONS’ 69 (KFR1002)
(Kuti) pub FKO/FAK. Licensed from Knitting Factory
Records.
02 DESMOND ABABIO, LEWIS WADAWA &
BLACK BEATS HIGHLIFE DANCE BAND
Tsutsu Tsosemo (Old Time Training)
from the album GHANA ELECTRIC HIGHLIFE:
SESSIONS FROM THE BOKOOR STUDIOS (76030-2)
(Ababio, Wadawa) pub Naxos Rights International Ltd.
Licensed from Select Music and Video Ltd.
03 GENTLEMAN BOBBY BENSON Taxi Driver
from the album CATCHY RYTHMS FROM NIGERIA
(P13401R)
(Benson) pub Premier Music Publishing Company Ltd.
Licensed from Premier Records.
04 SWEET TALKS Juliana
from the album HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIFE PARTY
(PAMADC301)
(Crentsil, Thorty, Afful) pub Popular African Music.
Licensed from Popular African Music.
05 ROADMASTER & AGYEMANG Akwasi Broni
from the album THE OLD HIGHLIFE (ARTHURTS001)
(Agyemang) pub Art Hurts Publishing. Licensed from
Art Hurts.
06 FRANCIS KENYA’S GUITAR BAND
Memia (I Am Too Broke)
from the album GHANA ELECTRIC HIGHLIFE:
SESSIONS FROM THE BOKOOR STUDIOS (76030-2)
(Kenya) pub Naxos Rights International Ltd. Licensed from
Select Music and Video Ltd.
07 CHIEF STEPHEN OSITA OSADEBE Osondi
Owendi
from the album OSONDI OWENDI (KMCD036)
(Osadebe) pub Premier Music Publishing Company Ltd.
Licensed from Premier Records.
08 SIR VICTOR UWAIFO Do Amen Do
from the album BIG SOUND (KMCD071)
(Sir Victor Uwaifo) pub Premier Music Publishing
Company Ltd. Licensed from Premier Records.
09 CELESTINE UKWU Igede
from the album IGEDE (KMCD012)
(Celestine Ukwu) pub Premier Music Publishing Company
Ltd. Licensed from Premier Records.
10 KOO NIMO Se Wo Nom Me (Tsetse Fly You
Suck My Blood)
11 PROFESSIONAL SEAGULLS DANCE BAND
Atabala Woman
released as a single (PE6259124)
(Bonny Boma) pub Premier Music Publishing Company
Ltd. Licensed from Premier Records.
12 DR. VICTOR OLAIYA Pariboto Riboto
released as a single (POLP066)
(Dr. Victor Olaiya) pub Premier Music Publishing Company
Ltd. Licensed from Premier Records.
13 GENESIS GOSPEL SINGERS Momma Mo
Akoma Ntutu
from the album THE GUITAR AND THE GUN
(STEW50CD)
(Genesis Gospel Singers) pub Sterns. Licensed from
Sterns Music.
from the album HIGHLIFE ROOTS REVIVAL
(TUGCD1064)
(Koo Nimo) pub Riverboat UK Music (MCPS). Courtesy of
Riverboat Records/World Music Network (UK) Ltd.
Visit www.worldmusic.net/highlife
for music information, video clips and free tracks.
MUSICROUGHGUIDES
RGNET1280CD
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