When Highlife ruled the airwaves
Records revisits Ghana’s golden era of rhythm and reinvention with Ghana Special: Highlife, a new single-LP edition that distills the electric fusion of highlife, soul, and psychedelia that defined the country’s sound for almost a decade from 1967 to 1976.
Serge Attukwei Clottey
Soundway Records continue with their run of highlighting the best music Ghana has produced with a new compilation Ghana Special: Highlife, a curated snapshot of Ghanaian music at its creative peak, spanning 1967 to 1976. This compilation captures the dynamic period when highlife, rock, and soul collided with tradition and culture, producing vibrant fusions that reflected both the country’s musical heritage and the adventurous spirit of a new generation.
All of the tracks featured here were originally released on Soundway’s acclaimed 2009 5-LP box set Ghana Special, now highly collectible and long out of print. This new single LP edition distills that expansive anthology into a focused, accessible selection, offering both longtime collectors and new listeners an expertly curated entry point into Ghana’s golden era of highlife.
Featuring seminal recordings from artists including The Ogyatanaa Show Band, Hedzoleh Soundz, Ebo Taylor & Honny & the Bees, the collection offers both historical insight and irresistible grooves. Tracks like “You Monopolise Me” by The Ogyatanaa Show Band showcase visionary producer Kwadwo Donkor’s quirky, soulful songwriting, while Hedzoleh Soundz’s “Edinya Benya” delivers electrified folk infused with spiritual and rhythmic innovation. Honny & the Bees Band’s”Psychedelic Woman”, which was remixed by DJ/producer Bonobo in 2005, demonstrates how these vibrant 70s highlife recordings continue to inspire contemporary electronic and downtempo music.
The cover features a previously unpublished 1976 photograph from James Barnor, capturing a musician at Rothman’s factory Christmas party in Accra, a glimpse into the archive of one of West Africa’s most important photographers. The image was shot on medium format film and is showcased at its original 1:1 ratio, with title and info on an obi strip.
Ghana Special: Highlife revives these rare and collectible recordings for modern listeners, celebrating the genre’s enduring vitality while offering a window into the country’s vibrant musical history. From street-level dance bands to the visionary work of Ghana’s musical pioneers, this LP traces the evolution of highlife across a crucial decade, revealing the innovative interplay of tradition and modernity that continues to inspire musicians today.
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS
Ohiani Sua Efrir – Asaase Ase, Ebo Taylor
Asaase Ase (“underground”) was a side project by the great highlife guitarist Ebo Taylor. Inspired by the rise of groups like Wulomei and Hedzoleh Soundz, musicians began returning to more traditional folk roots. The band was made up entirely of local boys from the streets of Cape Coast, no professional musicians. For Ebo, that meant leaving behind his big-band background in favour of a more guitar-based, raw style.
Ebo explains: “We started to play the music of the sailors, hunters and fishermen in the centre of Cape Coast where I was born. We played old folk songs that I’d grown up with, stripped down with no horns, just traditional percussion, vocals and guitar. Ohiani Sua Efir is the lament of the hunter who never catches anything in his trap but snakes, while the richer men go out and always return laden with bush-meat. It’s a real African blues number.”
Edina Brenya – Hedzoleh Soundz
Hedzoleh Soundz were managed by the legendary Faisal Helwani, a Ghanaian of Lebanese heritage born in Sekondi in 1946. Helwani shook up Ghana’s music world in the ’60s by promoting showcase nights that broke the monotony of long single-band gigs, combining music with competitions, fashion shows, and beauty contests. He also championed student bands and was instrumental in bringing a young Fela Kuti and his Koola Lobitos to Ghana.
