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Blitz takes in all the #Accra love
Going in red and deep. Blitz
Taking it all in- #AfropolitanDreams concert #Accra
In the shadows. #AfropolitanDreams comncert
Afrobeat/Jazz lengend Gyedu Blay Ambolley brought his illest Sax game to the jam. #AfropolitanDreams concert #Accra
Jamming with the drummer Syd- Embassy MVMT. #Accra
by Billie McTernan | photos by Mantse Aryeequaye
*Double-click on images to enlarge.
Wanlov the Kubolor + M3NSA = FOKN BOIS. Photo taken in Central Accra
For those that are unfamiliar with IND!E FUSE, you should know that it is the country’s largest concert of independent artists that falls slap-bang in the middle of Ghana’s December party season.
When I came to Ghana in December 2012 it had been four years since I’d last visited the country. Up until that time I had been under the guardianship of family, shuttling from one family house to another, missing out on the vibrancy the city had to offer. I was looking forward to discovering an alternative experience.
Kojo-Cue keeps it Kumasi in central Accra
I had been in Ghana for less than a week before I attended IND!E FUSE. Many Ghanaians had been speaking about the concert on Twitter for weeks prior and I was curious to know what Accra had to offer.
The vibe was nothing short of electric. With a crucible of genres, I hadn’t realized that Accra was so diverse.
Photos by MANTSE ARYEEQUAYE
We continue our CHALE WOTE episode of Strolling Goats in Accra with the rest of the festival’s production crew. Below are more expectations of this year’s edition and thoughts on James Town.
Rita Esionam
I would say James Town is an urban community that has a lot of interesting places. They also have a lot of interesting things that people always want to see like the beach, the food, the old harbor and a particular type of Highlife music that can only be found in this part of the capital. I’m hoping that through CHALE WOTE young people here will be inspired to embrace education.
Once this happens, everything will change. People here are nice and they make everyone feel welcome. Chale Wote has been a great festival for the community, for us who live here, it’s a way to leave our mark . After this year’s Chale Wote, I hope young people here will be inspired to be creative so they can turn their lives around.
Rita Esionam runs No Limits Charity and works with more than 500 kids in James Town. She’s coordinating art education workshops for children during CHALE WOTE.
Come out to the TALK PARTY SERIES tonite as we celebrate TAWIAH’s new mixtape “FREEDOM DROP” with a listening session. We will also be premiering her second single, “FACES” – directed by Mantse Aryeequaye, produced by REDD Kat Pictures + ACCRA [dot] ALT.
TAWIAH wants to know what you think about her new album and video! We’ll have a Skype call session with the singer/songwriter in London and you’ll have a chance to share your thoughts.
As lovers of good music, the party wouldn’t be complete without the DUSTLYVE Booth’s Kobby Graham + DJ Kev keeping buttorses shaking on the dance floor all night. So come out and let’s get live together.
We’re collecting books to support the Community Creative Center. Be kind and bring a book to donate for this worthy cause.
Peep @TawiahMusic‘s special IND!E FUSE shout out to you right here!
The 2-day live electro music mashup – IND!E FUSE began last night with massive sounds and late-night dancing at The Republic Bar + Grill. Stay tuned to see exclusive photos from the show. Then jam down with us TONIGHT at Alliance Francaise (7:30 -11pm, 10ghc).
18 amazing live music performers over two days…it’s the best bang for your cedi, chale.
WE FIRST MET KAE SUN in November 2010. We had heard from a mutual friend that dude was taking Toronto by storm. Definitely, not Canada dry. Kae Sun was back in Accra for the first time in a decade to perform at the High Vibes Festival. Tall, bright-eyed and open, he was amped to be home reconnecting with family, friends and the city. Naturally, Kae Sun was a bit anxious about presenting his intimate acoustics to hometown folks. It was clear then that the singer/songwriter was still minting his sound, finding his voice through the strings of a guitar.
Back in Toronto, Kae Sun uses the road as his tool shed. A busy tour schedule across Canada provides a sonic lab to experiment with different rhythms, textures and experiences. And he’s been in the basement working on a followup to 2011’s Outside the Barcode. Kae Sun has teamed up with producer friends Josh and Mark to create a sound that is both futuristic and organic. He’s catching on, too – if proof is in the pudding, his upcoming June show with K’Naan in Toronto is butterscotch.
A bold blend of opposite angles – Ghana and Canada, folk + funked-up soul, futuristic and organic – that congeal in just the right way. Kae Sun’s sound is altogether here and nowhere – he is fully present in the moment yet time traveling between the before and the after. His sound is now grown up and full-bodied – his melodies thick, strong, coffee brown alert. He sings of terrific and terrible things, strumming out each whisper and thunder through strings that compel you, the listener, to respond in some way.
A cheer, a moan, a hum, a teeth suck, a shake of the head, a handclap, a bang-your-back-out boogie. Some response must meet this call.
We can dig it. That’s why we were excited to help produce Kae Sun’s first headliner show in Ghana this May. It was a lovely time with more than 200 folks squeezed into a bluesy joint called Taverna Tropicana. We all came to witness Kae Sun BLAST IT along with Ofie Kodjoe, Tauri Deveaux, Tapcuma and PaaKwesi Davis.
To see Kae Sun in action, check out video from our interview above and an exclusive performance of “When the Pot” below:
ACCRA [dot] ALT Radio 