Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds In The Diaspora, 1980-93 (Vinyl 3LP)

The trusty folk at Soundway have done it again, digging up 18 must-hear tunes from an incredible but less-heard era in Ghana's musical history. Spanning the dawn of the 80s into early 90s, Ghana Special 2 celebrates a time when "drum machines and synthesisers appeared alongside lilting guitar lines and punchy horns", throwing the likes of disco, boogie, R&B, new wave, zouk, and soca into the merry mix. - Flying Out

In the early 1980s, a particular alchemy between new musical technologies and significant social, cultural, and political transformations in Ghana gave rise to a new style of highlife. Drum machines and synthesisers appeared alongside lilting guitar lines and punchy horns, and the emerging Ghanaian diaspora began incorporating US disco and boogie, R&B, European new wave, and Caribbean zouk and soca into their music.

This style soundtracked the birth of a new, proud Ghanaian identity and captured the idiosyncrasies of a rapidly changing postcolonial society, marked by increased migration and wider access to global sounds and modern technology.

Tracklist

1. The Godfathers - Ebe Ye Yie NI
2. Pat Thomas - Gye Wani 
3. Pepper, Onion, Ginger & Salt - m.c. Mambo
4. Andy Vans - Adjoa Amisa
5. George Darko - Kaakyire Nua
6. Rex Gyamfi - Obiara Bewu
7. Starlite - Anoma Koro
8. Abdul Raheem - Alaiye
9. Jon K - Asafo
10. Kwasi Afari Minta - Barima NSU
11. Marijata (Feat. Ata Kak) - Otanhunu
12. Gyedu Blay Ambolley - Apple
13. Dadadi - Jigi Jigi
14. Charles Amoah - Fre Me (Call Me)
15. Ernest Honny - New Dance
16. Bessa Simons - Sii Nana
17. Nan Mayen - Mumude
18. Nana Budjei - Asobrachie