Ghana sounds
Ghana dances to the beat of its own drum, and the world is taking notice. Here are the best places to see live music in Accra
Highlife, Afrobeat, Hiplife, African Jazz – the music of West Africa has never been more influential globally. Listen to the charts of the US and UK, and the influence of West Africa can be clearly heard.
Ghana’s musical map was once dominated by highlife – a genre so diverse it managed to survive not just Western influence but incorporate the disparate styles imported to the country over centuries to produce an effervescent sound reflecting Ghana’s vibrancy. The polyrhythmic, slightly discordant charms of Ghana’s trademark highlife could have only emerged from this city. The origins of the music are in the big band sound, brought over by British troops during World War Two, melded with Caribbean Tropicana and profoundly inspired by traditional Ghanaian music, including Palm Wine music.
Tracing the roots of highlife back, we can trace a direct line to the rhythms of the pre-colonial Gold Coast, when storytellers would sit in the shade and spin yarns to the accompaniment of the seperew, a harp lute that is often considered the precursor to the guitar. Although strictly a form of praise for the Akan people, its influence can be heard in many types of Ghanaian music.
The frantic drumming, so often taught in Ghana and West Africa, is largely from the Dagomba nation in the north, and is often accompanied by molo lutes and goje fiddles.
To the south, among the Ga, Akan and Ewe peoples, drums and bells again dominate the traditional scene. The wooden xylophone and the kora harp add a confident melody over the beats. Today, these sounds combine with hip hop for Ghana’s unique musical sounds.
Highlife to hiplife
Step into many of the nightclubs in Ghana’s cities and more often than not, you’ll be confronted with the throbbing beats and visceral energy of hiplife, a blend of hip hop, dancehall and highlife. It has evolved into a deeper, more localised groove. Rapping in Twi, other local languages and pidgin, artists like Kwa Kwese and Samini have mined this new sound to move Ghanaian dancefloors and find a new audience. More and more these sounds are being picked up by an international audience too, often through collaborations.
In 21st century Accra, hip hop, reggae, pop, funeral tunes and traditional music all mingle into an electrifying cacophony. Eighty years since its heyday, highlife, its precursors and its off-shoots still provide the soundtrack to a city that is fuelled by music.
