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Artist
Edzayawa
12+ albums
afrobeatghanapsychedelicPsychedelic Rockafrica
about
"The future keyboard player of Edzayawa went to play in a nightclub in Togo, where he met two Ghanians at a club. They played a repertoire of Hendrix/Stones/Beatles, but since it was a time that Osibisa, Fela Kuti started to play, going for an African identity in rock music wasn’t so unusual any longer, so with a new repertoire the band headed to Nigeria, where they met Fela and played in The Shrine. It was in Nigeria where they were able to record their album. In Nigeria their Afro-rock style was generally understood. But when they went back to Ghana the band had a more tough time to survive so after two years they disbanded and didn’t record anything else. There was something extremely original about the album. First of all the rhythms being used are unlike those on any other album. The 6/8 rhythms originate from the Anlo Ewe musical culture of South Eastern Ghana, where they had a very known drul ensemble called the Atsimevu Drum Ensemble, consisting of a master drum (atsimevu) and supporting drums (kidi, kayan, koroboto) and a gong. The band in fact plays such unusual rhythms the whole time, with breaks and changes within one song. The singing is more Afrobeat with lead singing and responses or group singing. Another very attractive element is of course the organ, improvising accents or solos. On the last track the keyboard solo has something in between blues and a Middle Eastern dance, which is also something very original. Secondly, the electric guitar improvisations a
