We only hope we can add to the momentum.ĭJs like the late John Peel and Charlie Gillet were the first to give a platform for “world music”. That their music has been rediscovered by an international audience decades after it was recorded gives our film a bit of a Buena Vista flavour. Moreover, it touches on the failings of an industry which left many of its most cherished artists in financial hardship. It features interviews with some of the biggest names from a golden period of Ghanaian music, and with some of the DJs and labels responsible for the resurgent interest in Highlife and Afrobeat in Europe and America.Īs much as the film is a celebration of the music (and the soundtrack includes excerpts from some outrageous tunes), the narrative is underpinned by the social and political context of the history of the music. Our film explores a the musical dialogue between West Africa and the West, specifically Ghana, where Highlife music was born. But while modern Western music was shaped by African influence, the popular music of Africa was being shaped by influences coming in the other direction. Spirituals led to gospel music, to the blues, to jazz, soul and funk. The idea that Africa is the cradle of popular music is a familiar one.
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