Highlife Archives - Backseat Mafia

Album Review: Gyedu-Blay Ambolley – Simigwa (Strut Records Reissue)

Strut Records continues its celebration of Ghana’s legendary Essiebons label with the official reissue of Simigwa, the groundbreaking 1975 album by Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. Recognized as a cornerstone of Ghanaian highlife…

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Album Review : Peter Somuah –‘Highlife’ : A punchy and profound afro-jazz fusion story .

Sometimes ‘world jazz’ or ‘world fusion’ comes across as primarily a musical endeavour. Yes the results have been seminal and spectacular. No-one would question the significance of the ethno-jazz explorations…

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Album Review : Ghana Special Volume 2 : a thrilling ‘burger-highlife’ compilation charting the roots of today’s afro-beats and so much more…

So, what makes a great compilation album? It so much more than flinging a gaggle of tracks together which have got a loose connection to a time or place or…

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Album Review: Star Feminine Band – In Paris : Afro-pop energy from Benin’s ‘band like no other’.

If you missed catching onto the joyous pop of Star Feminine Band when their self-titled debut burst onto the scene a couple of years ago, then now is the time…

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Track/Video: Direct from Benin, Star Feminine Band beam out more authentic teen pop with new single ‘Le Mariage Forcé’ and soon come album ‘In Paris’.

If you didn’t catch onto the joyous West African pop of Star Feminine Band when their self-titled debut burst onto the scene a couple of years ago, then you really…

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Album Review: Vis-A-Vis – The Best Of Vis-A-Vis In Congo Style

Remember those stellar studio bands of the late sixties/early seventies – The Meters, The Section, The Wrecking Crew, Muscle Shoals – defining the sound of where a record was made…

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