Name: Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band
Brand: Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

STRUT126LP

Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

[r7140529]

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-05-28

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0730003312618

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Total Cap

2 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band

Genre GB

African

Label GB

Strut

<p>Strut is a British independent label founded by Quinton Scott. From 1999 to 2003, Strut was at the forefront of unearthing forgotten dance music gems, covering a wide range of genres from hard funk and underground disco to Nigerian Afrobeat and old skool hip hop. Their releases not only featured killer dancefloor tracks but also provided a comprehensive context for the music, delving into the stories behind the tunes, the clubs, and the scene of that time. With meticulous attention to detail, Strut's albums were mastered from original tapes whenever possible and included extensive sleeve notes written by respected journalists, rare photographs, and memorabilia.</p>

<p>In January 2008, Strut was reactivated and became part of the *K7 label group. Since then, their releases have been primarily based in Europe unless there is an exclusive retailer in another territory.</p>

Back In Stock

Limited Copies come with a Strut Sampler. Hailing from Kumasi, Thomas had lived with highlife legend King Onyina from a young age before working with Ebo Taylor in two of Ghana's great 1960s highlife big bands, Broadway Dance Band and Stargazers. They would collaborate regularly, Pat contributing vocals to Ebo's solo albums and Ebo arranging horns for Pat'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. Fela Kuti's bandleader, drummer Tony Allen, would record a session with Sweet Beans in Kumasi in 1975 (as yet unreleased). "Highlife was our music," Pat remembers. "People like Ebo and I modernised it, made it more relevant to our day. We took the Kwa music of Kumasi and other local styles and added Western elements." With his distinctive flowing vocal style, sung in Fanti and Ashanti Twi dialect, Pat became established as one of Ghana's biggest musical draws. During the '80s, Pat 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. Together with guitarist George Darko, 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, Thomas' new album marks over 50 years making music and reunites him with old friends: Ebo Taylor provides horn arrangements, Tony Allen contributes drums to several tracks, Osei Tutu (Hedzolleh Sounds) plays a memorable trumpet solo and prolific 1970s bassist Ralph Karikari (The Noble Kings) also features. Younger generation stars appearing include bassist Emmanuel Ofori, percussionist 'Sunday' Owusu and Pat Thomas' daughter Nanaaya, an acclaimed vocalist in her own right. The album features new full band arrangements of original '80s Thomas classics 'Gyae Su', 'Odoo Adada' and 'Mewo Akoma'. Abarbanel-Wolff explains: "By 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." Kwame Yeboah continues, "We had to create our own buzz, keep the sound totally real - there are no digital, machine or sampled sounds here." - New compositions also feature, including the superb, yearning 'Me Ho Asem' and the infectious afrobeat jam, 'Odoo Be Ba'. LP - With CD Version.

Music GB