#5022, African Pop
There’s music from the African continent rooted in traditional dance music, from Ghanan band Santrofi, Ethiopian groove-funk from Damakase, and music from Sudanese outfit Noori & His Dorpa Band.
Santrofi, an all-star band from Ghana named for the rare and precious bird in Akan mythology was founded by bassist and producer Emmanuel Ofori (Ebo Taylor, Kwashibu Area Band). The 8-piece musician collective are deeply rooted in vintage Ghanaian highlife music in all its forms: the riveting fast-paced pulse of 70s dance-guitar highlife, the other-worldly sound of Highlife funk, and the polyrhythmic beats and melodies that took Afrobeat across the globe. Hear music from their 2019 debut album Alewa, along with new music from the Accra-based Kwashibu Area Band, who are also dedicated to preserving and innovating Ghanaian Highlife music. Then hear Anglo-Ghanaian quartet ONIPA whose music “joins the origin story of dance rhythms from Africa to recent electronic dance music, connecting African folklore and storytelling to rap, jazz and hip hop“, (Bandcamp liner notes).
Listen also to Afrobeat-informed brass-heavy space-funk from Brazil’s Bixiga70, whose name is a nod to Fela Kuti’s Africa '70. Then, traditional Ethiopian themes mix seamlessly with west African grooves, old-time banjo riffs, and funk from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in music by Damakase. Plus, there’s music by Sudanese artist and tambo-guitarist, Noori & His Dorpa Band, who celebrate the music and culture of the Beja people, where the music has “connections to Eritrean Tigray, Sudanese Shaigiya, or even slight, coincidental hints of guitar music from Agadez, Niger”, (Rootsworld.com.) That, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #5022, African Pop (First aired 6/27/25)
ARTIST: Noori & His Dorpa Band
WORK: Saagama [1:01]
RECORDING: Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan's Red Sea
SOURCE: OSTINATO
INFO: ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Bixiga70
WORK: Baile Flutuante [4:02]
RECORDING: Vapor
SOURCE: Glitterbeat
INFO: https://bixiga70.bandcamp.com/album/vapor
ARTIST: Damakase
WORK: Wassorai Asho Mada [4:22]
RECORDING: Gunfan Yellem!
SOURCE: Captain Pouch Records
INFO: https://damakase.bandcamp.com/track/damakase
ARTIST: Kwashibu Area Band
WORK: M'akoma Nnwom [4:29]
RECORDING: Love Warrior’s Anthem
SOURCE: Soundway Records
INFO: https://kwashibu.bandcamp.com/album/love-warrior-s-anthem
ARTIST: Noori & His Dorpa Band
WORK: Saagama [3:57]
RECORDING: Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan's Red Sea
SOURCE: OSTINATO
INFO: ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: ONIPA
WORK: No Commando [1:00]
RECORDING: Off the Grid
SOURCE: Real World Limited
INFO: https://lnk.to/RW253
ARTIST: Santrofi
WORK: Kwaa Kwaa [4:48]
RECORDING: Alewa
SOURCE: Outhere Records
INFO: https://santrofi.bandcamp.com/album/alewa
ARTIST: Kala Jula & Gangbe Brass Band
WORK: Djrado [7:10]
RECORDING: ASRO
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, and others.
ARTIST: IzangoMa
WORK: Ngo Ma [5:14]
RECORDING: Out Of The World
SOURCE: Brownswood Recordings
INFO: https://izangoma.lnk.to/NgoMaID
ARTIST: Ifriqiyya Electrique
WORK: Moola Nefta [5:50]
RECORDING: Laylet el Booree
SOURCE: Glitterbeat Records
INFO: ifriqiyya-electrique.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Lulendo, feat. Tony Allen
WORK: Mwinda [3:38]
RECORDING: Mwinda
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, and others.
