{"title":"Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"pat-thomas-and-kwashibu-area-band","title":"Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band","description":"\u003cp\u003eHailing from Kumasi, \u003cstrong\u003eThomas\u003c\/strong\u003e had lived with highlife legend \u003cstrong\u003eKing Onyina\u003c\/strong\u003e from a young age before working with \u003cstrong\u003eEbo Taylor\u003c\/strong\u003e in two of Ghana's great 1960s highlife big bands, \u003cem\u003eBroadway Dance Band\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eStargazers\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey would collaborate regularly, \u003cstrong\u003ePat\u003c\/strong\u003e contributing vocals to \u003cstrong\u003eEbo\u003c\/strong\u003e's solo albums and \u003cstrong\u003eEbo\u003c\/strong\u003e arranging horns for \u003cstrong\u003ePat\u003c\/strong\u003e's songs. Both would become a mainstay of the '70s and '80s Ghanaian highlife, afrobeat and afro-pop scenes, hitting big with the Ghana Cocoa Board-sponsored Sweet Beans band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFela Kuti\u003c\/strong\u003e's bandleader, drummer \u003cstrong\u003eTony Allen\u003c\/strong\u003e, would record a session with Sweet Beans in Kumasi in 1975 (as yet unreleased). \"\u003cem\u003eHighlife was our music\u003c\/em\u003e,\" \u003cstrong\u003ePat\u003c\/strong\u003e remembers. \"\u003cem\u003ePeople like Ebo and I modernized it, made it more relevant to our day. We took the Kwa music of Kumasi and other local styles and added Western elements\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith his distinctive flowing vocal style, sung in Fanti and Ashanti Twi dialect, \u003cstrong\u003ePat\u003c\/strong\u003e became established as one of Ghana's biggest musical draws. During the '80s, \u003cstrong\u003ePat\u003c\/strong\u003e continued to stay close to highlife and, by the middle of the decade, had become the biggest star in the emerging 'burger highlife' scene involving recordings produced in Berlin and Hamburg and exported to Ghana.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTogether with guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eGeorge Darko\u003c\/strong\u003e, his output added to the rich mix of cultures making the global reach of highlife possible. Recorded in Accra and mixed at Lovelite Studios' analogue HQ in Berlin, \u003cstrong\u003eThomas\u003c\/strong\u003e's new album marks over 50 years making music and reunites him with old friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEbo Taylor\u003c\/strong\u003e provides horn arrangements, \u003cstrong\u003eTony Allen\u003c\/strong\u003e contributes drums to several tracks, \u003cstrong\u003eOsei Tutu\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem\u003eHedzolleh Sounds\u003c\/em\u003e) plays a memorable trumpet solo and prolific 1970s bassist \u003cstrong\u003eRalph Karikari\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem\u003eThe Noble Kings\u003c\/em\u003e) also features. Younger generation stars appearing include bassist \u003cstrong\u003eEmmanuel Ofori\u003c\/strong\u003e, percussionist 'Sunday' Owusu and \u003cstrong\u003ePat Thomas\u003c\/strong\u003e's daughter Nanaaya, an acclaimed vocalist in her own right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe album features new full band arrangements of original '80s \u003cstrong\u003eThomas\u003c\/strong\u003e classics '\u003cem\u003eGyae Su\u003c\/em\u003e', '\u003cem\u003eOdoo Adada\u003c\/em\u003e' and '\u003cem\u003eMewo Akoma\u003c\/em\u003e'. Abarbanel-Wolff explains: \"\u003cem\u003eBy the mid-1980s, Ghanaian music had started to use digital production and the heyday of the 'golden era' was over. With this album, we wanted to continue the tradition of the late '70s sound and bring the roots back\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKwame Yeboah\u003c\/strong\u003e continues, \"\u003cem\u003eWe had to create our own buzz, keep the sound totally real - there are no digital, machine or sampled sounds here\u003c\/em\u003e.\" - New compositions also feature, including the superb, yearning '\u003cem\u003eMe Ho Asem\u003c\/em\u003e' and the infectious afrobeat jam, '\u003cem\u003eOdoo Be Ba\u003c\/em\u003e'. LP - With CD Version.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50412921651531,"sku":"388256","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50412922831179,"sku":"388257","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Pat_Thomas__Kwashibu_Area_Band_787e4a8c_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726669628"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/pat-thomas-and-kwashibu-area-band.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}