No one remembers a peacock without its colorful wings.
How it sounds
Like Caribbean music, but without it.
Possibly as a cover band by Louis Armstrong at a more African tempo.
It generally sounds stylish, cheerful and the notes smell like warm summer air with an aura of a cocktail of tropical fruits.
It’s essentially African music with western instruments reminiscent of Swing and Jazz.
Why listen to it
Because it is happy, it is reminiscent of times of black and white musicals and in general, the musical richness of Africa is always worth exploring.
Why not
It does not keep up with the current music situation and the Second World War is over, because we can not have such happy rhythms.
Where we meet it
Today Ghana
When did it start
The ‘20s.
Who are the pioneers
The Accra Orchestra, the Cape Coast Sugar Babies, and the Jazz Kings were among the first Highlife bands.
The main speaker and pioneer is considered to be the musician Amakye Dede.
E.T. Mensah (1919–1996) is known as the “King of Highlife”, as he is the man who made the genre known outside Africa, after his duet with Louis Armstrong.
You have to listen
Fela Kuti, Randy Weston, Guy Warren, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Sharrock.
Days of glory
In World War II and shortly after, but generally failed to conquer the western world.
Red card
It stayed on an amateur level and generally brings together all the problems of African music and the African sub-Saharan continent in general.
What is it confused with
With Hip Hop, House, Jùjú, Ndombolo, R&B and Soca.
How do you describe it to an irrelevant
Like Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World”, but faster and with melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional African music.