A Republicans guide to what is Jiving in Ghana

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Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and his Sekondi Band plays Montreux Jazz Festival

in Entertainment/Event/Music by

From 28 June to 13 July 2019, the Montreux Jazz Festival will explore current sounds and celebrate timeless music. The 53rd edition features new trends, striking individuals, and absolute legends from African-American and British music.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley  plays Montreux Jazz Festival on the 8th of July.

On Monday 8th July, at the Montreux Jazz Club , Gyedu-Blay Ambolleyand his Sekondi Band from from Ghana is expected to perform. Also peforming that same evening is  AMADOU + MARIAM,  and The BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA.

Tickets can be purchased here.

 

Mr. Eazi, Kidi, Medikal, DarkoVibez, Raye and Friends Storm Republic Bar

in Entertainment/Music by
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This holiday season many stars and personalities from all over the world have visited Republic Bar and Grill as part of their planned itinerary.

It is not very unusual for Mr. Eazi to be seen at Republic, as he normally prefers to go off the beaten track and immerse himself amongst his Ghanaian folk as best as he can. However it was very much a noticeable sight when his entire crew of friends showed up and it was nothing but love! Medikal, Kidi, Raye (A popular musician and friend of Mr. Eazi from the U.K.) and DarkoVibez, were certainly manifesting a special bond amongst themselves yet maintaining a dialogue and interaction with their fanbase and crowd. Nothing short of very cool.

Their soiree was not a touch and go affair. They certainly felt at home and toasted their New Years trajectory with Republic Bars’ famous “GinJah” (Akpeteshie Cane Spirit Ginger Shot)  and granted photo opportunities to some of their fans.

 

“MEET ME THERE- Weekender” announces program lineup for March 2019 event

in Entertainment/Events/Music by

“MEET ME THERE- Weekender” is an intimate not-for-profit music and arts festival held at Meet Me There African Home Lodge; an eco-retreat in the Volta region of Ghana. Fringed by wild beaches, colourful fishing villages and lush mangrove forests, this secluded stretch of coastline is worlds apart from your usual festival setting. Here, nestled at the edge of a saltwater lagoon, their little oasis awaits you.

Bringing like-minded individuals together for a unique celebration of Ghanaian culture, MMT Weekender offers a festival experience like no other. Their four-day programme is designed to open your eyes to the magic of Ghana through a carefully-curated display of Music, Arts and Culture.

This years’ music program sees a huge range of live acts and DJs performing. Ranging from highlife legend Ebo Taylor, vibrant band Kyekyeku to Ewe rappers such as Worlasi and Agbeshie, DJ performances from rising stars Gafacci, DJ Pherry, Zongo Abongo’s Busy Twist. Plus South Africas’ SNO and UKs Tash LC are sure to be some of the many highlights from across the weekend! Please see the Full musical Lineup here: Adomaa, Agbeshie, Bessa Simons, Bood’nBone, Borborbor Drummers, Bessa Simons, Costiro, DJ Pherry, Ebo Taylor, Evergreen Dance Band, Fred Robarts, Gafacci, Jay Carder, Kakatsitsi Drummers, Kyekyeku, Latino, Mprez Ody, Shieshie Nitan, SNO, Tash LC, Worlasi, Zipporah, Zongo Abongo & The Busy Twist, 4TotheFloor –  It’s fair to say the lineup really does cater for all tastes!

 

 

But MMT Weekender is not just about the music. They also offer free workshops and activities for all ticket holders throughout the weekend. Whether it’s trying your hand at drumming or dancing, getting stuck into a beach football tournament or joining a boat trip down the Volta River, there’s something for everyone.

Meet Me There is a truly special place that will have you returning to reality re-fuelled, revitalised and full of love!

Ghana Residents tickets are available via Whatsapp: +233545547942

 

International tickets via: bit.ly/mmt2019

Their Ethos:

The festival is not-for-profit supporting Dream Big Ghana NGO. DBG are dedicated to providing safe sanitation and educational opportunities to the communities of Dzita -Abledomi.

Leave no trace: Here at MMT they are committed to being as eco-friendly as possible. As well as planting a tree for every festival ticket bought (their way of offsetting your carbon footprint), the site is proudly portaloo-free thanks to their lovely smelling compost toilets and they have swapped plastic for biodegradable products wherever they can.

 

Colossium entertainment and digital magazine releases December issue

in Activism/Entertainment/Film & TV/Music/Writing by

Friday, 14 December 2018 — Accra, Ghana — Colossium Magazine, a youth focused Ghanaian lifestyle and entertainment digital magazine released its December issue.

The December issue which features two of Ghana’s top music artistes M.anifest and Adina also has contents from the areas of Fashion, Film, History and more.

The digital magazine company founded in January 2018 by Ghanaian tech entrepreneur and graphic designer, Eugene Ossei, successfully launched its 4th issue with the debut streaming of the cover interview of the December issue on Facebook on December 14, 2018 at 20:00GMT. The issue since going live has received many accolades from a cross-section of Ghanaians and personalities across the continent.

―I find it easy to read and carry around. Having my magazine on my phone is all I need‖ – Rosemary, Colossium Magazine subscriber.

―Beautiful work‖ – Emilio, Absolut Vodka.

―I just had my first read of the issue. I must say, I’m impressed with it especially the interviews‖ – Julius Jules Banda, Malawi.

Colossium Maagazine’s December issue was co-produced by Lucent Brothers Ltd, a production company headed by Franklin Gyan with support from Da Viva and la Maison (a lifestyle gallery at Osu).

         

The magazine is available online via this link:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/acf7f734-08d7-4bbe-9c70-019d691bbeab

Intro to SAMINI’s 7th studio album “UNTAMED” released

in Music by

UNTAMED

adjective

un·​tamed | \ˌən-ˈtāmd  \

Definition of untamed
-not made less wild or less difficult to control :

Synonyms
natural, uncultivated, virgin, wild

Catch this powerful Intro to SAMINI’s 7th studio album UNTAMED

Full album avail for download from December 22nd, 2018

#pibiliinaa #legendary #untamed #reggaedancehall #artistry #samini #ghana #akyesaa #defined #nocompetition

K.O.G a.k.a Kweku of Ghana  releases ‘Change’, iZem and K.O.G’s new single on Pura Vida Sounds

in Music by

K.O.G a.k.a Kweku of Ghana and iZem a.k.a In Ze Early Morning.

Pura Vida Sounds, the brand new imprint set up by GUTS presents its second release. “Change” is a collaboration between iZem and K.O.G, two expats who capture their surrounding vibrations perfectly.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist, born in Accra (Ghana), resident in Sheffield (UK), K.O.G is constantly innovating. Leader of his own afro funk band K.O.G and The Zongo Brigade and lead vocalist for Onipa, K.O.G is a creative force, relentlessly touring and collaborating across a range of styles, from afro funk to house, dancehall and reggae to jungle.

Guitar-schooled in Spain, it is in Brazil and Argentina that iZem collaborated on multiple projects before landing in Dublin, behind two turntables and a mixer and finally ending up in Lisbon. After his first album, Hafa, released by Soundway Records, the French-Moroccan beatmaker maintains his permanent connection with Portuguese-speaking music from South America and Africa.

In this single, the lead track “Change” sees them opening the doors of creation that little bit wider. It is no accident that these two distinct voices have come together on “Change”, with K.O.G bringing his trademark vocal versatility in a unique style, drawing as much from his African roots as from Jamaican and US soul inspirations.

For lovers of simplicity or anyone who would like to put their own voice on it, Pura Vida Sounds offers the instrumental version of “Change” on the B-side of the 45 rpm.

Source: https://educateinspirechange.org

REVOLUTIONARIZING AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC – AN INTERVIEW WITH WEKU KRON KRON

in Band Interviews/Music by

TRB: HOW DID WEKU KRON KRON COME ABOUT?

WKK: this band came about 10 years ago when I was teaching my younger siblings, friends and close associates how to play musical instruments-precisely the wind instruments. This vision came up when I was with my former group “Wind Afrique Band” with whom I tried to compose a few songs with in the African traditional style we displayed moments ago. But unfortunately they didn’t buy into the vision so I realized I had to reinvigorate it, and that of course I needed a team so I called on some of the young people I was training. They believed in the vision I had and passion for music. Initially they were shaky but with reassurance and training for 3 years we came out with a ‘solid’ band.

TRB: What does WEKU KRON KRON MEAN?

WKK: WEKU KRON KRON means ‘holy family’ in the Ga dialect which is widely spoken by the people from the Greater Accra region here in Ghana. WEKU means ‘family’ and KRON KRON means ‘holy’.

TRB: WHAT IS THE BAND LOOKING TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS?

WKK: Basically we are looking at feeding the world with our rich traditional music. Building on the tenets of cultural diversity, we seek to show the world an essential part of us which is the African traditional music by having people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, such as Gas, Ewes and Fantes coming together to form this band.

There is the need to explore and showcase our culture to the world-especially to the western world. We cannot continue to copy and adopt western cultures and music and not share our indigenous African cultures with them in order to have a balance.

TRB: WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC DO YOU CREATE?

WKK: You could call it afro pop but I would prefer to call it ‘traditional art music’ or better still ‘African art music’ because all the music that we create is put down in the form of musical notations where if you are a music teacher who can read music, you can use the score to read and play or impart knowledge to music students.

TRB: WHAT INSPIRES THE COLLECTIVE?

WKK: Creativity is our inspiration, because the goal is to create a distinctive rhythm. One would realize that in the cover songs we performed tonight. Adding our own touch by switching the style to make the sound a WEKU KRON KRON classic, the band takes delight in creating new stuff but not only playing other people’s music.

TRB: WHAT KIND OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU USE IN YOUR MUSIC?

WKK: Besides the keyboard, guitar, drums and trumpets we also incorporate the flute-a distinct one called “WARIGA” from the northern part of Togo. We also use an instrument similar to the horn used by the Ashantis at the Manhyia palace to announce the presence of the King. What we use is the antelope’s horn, African fiddle, xylophones and the ‘fontomfrom’ drums, which provide a unique sound.

TRB: IN A LESS ADMIRED MUSICAL GENRE WHAT MOTIVATES WEKU KRONKRON TO REMAIN ORIGINAL EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT MAINSTREAM MUSIC?

WKK: I think the youth these days want western music but we Africans can best do what is ingrained in us; our music is one of such things. The African traditional music motivates us as band, because we cannot sit idle and enjoy music from other parts of the world while our music goes extinct. So I can say staying true to ourselves and being original motivates WEKU KRO KRON band.

TRB: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A BAND AND PERSONALLY, AS BAND LEADER?

WKK: The band is faced with numerous challenges which include the lack of a good management to steer the band, financial setbacks and exposure even though we have rich traditional music to give to the world. But we try to work our way through.

TRB: WHAT IS AFRICAN MUSIC AND WHAT SHOULD IT BE ABOUT?

WKK: When it comes to Africa, music is believed to be in our blood, I would use the expression “from the cradle to the grave”. Music is part of our everyday life-a typical example is finding an African doing domestic work while singing recreational music. So I think African music is innate, it forms part of our identity.

TRB: WOULD YOU SAY AFRICAN MUSIC IS YET TO BE DISCOVERED IN-DEPTH OR IT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEFINED?

WKK: It has definitely been discovered-our ancestors preserved it to be passed down to us. But I think we are not properly documenting it, thus it’s fading away since it’s only being transferred orally.

The emergence of western music has affected African music greatly because it is swaying the present generation away from identifying with their own music, its history, evolution and how it should be carried on which in turn would make them appreciate it more rather than neglect it. We as a band seek to go back to our roots and pick the old folk tunes that our forefathers treated us to and fuse it in our music.

TRB: WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE WORLD-IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS WHAT SHOULD BE EXPECTED FROM WEKU KRONRKRON BAND?

WKK: We would like the world to know we are here to continue and perfect upon the awe-inspiring works by “Osibisa”. Serving the world with rich African music, we invite everyone to connect with WEKU KRONKRON, be it music promoters, producers, music enthusiasts to come on board to propagate and spread the African traditional music and vibes with the world.

TRB: THANK YOU FOR SPENDING TIME WITH US.

WKK: Thank you.