Name: Yen Ara
Brand: Ebo Taylor

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

mrblp155

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

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

2018-04-06

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Proper

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

7119691251318

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

mrbcd155

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7119691251226

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1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Ebo Taylor

Genre GB

African

Label GB

Mr Bongo

Ebo Taylor (born 1936) is a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer and arranger focusing on highlife and afrobeat music.

Born in 1936, Ebo Taylor has been a vital figure on the Ghanaian music scene for over six decades. In the late '50s he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band. In 1962, Taylor took his own group, the Black Star Highlife Band, to London, which led to collaborations with Nigerian afrobeat star Fela Kuti as well as other African musicians in Britain at the time. Returning to Ghana, he worked as a producer, crafting recordings for Pat Thomas, C.K. Mann, and others, as well as exploring his own projects, combining traditional Ghanaian material with afrobeat, jazz, and funk rhythms to create his own recognizable sound in the '70s.

Father of [a=Ebo Taylor Jr.], [a3444104] and [a5357408]

Mr Bongo is a British label that was founded in 1989. Originally located in a small record shop of the same name, it later moved to various locations in Soho and Shibuya, Japan. In 1999, the label's office was relocated to Brighton and its London & Shibuya shops were closed in 2003. However, a new shop was opened in Brighton in 2016. Since 2004, Mr Bongo has expanded into the world of cinema and also has a publishing division that produces and licenses music for third parties.
The label's rich history and diverse range of music make it an influential player in the industry. With its extensive catalog and commitment to quality, Mr Bongo continues to be at the forefront of discovering new talent and delivering exceptional music experiences.
Label Code: LC 12527

Back In Stock

The 81-year-old composer, arranger, guitarist and vocalist has been a key figure in the evolving afro-funk sound since the Seventies, working with the likes of Apagya Show Band, CK Mann and Pat Thomas. Famously, he rubbed shoulders with Fela Kuti while studying in London in the Sixties, before going on to lead the Ghana Black Star Band (featuring Osei and Sol Amarfio from Osibisa) and later the Uhuru Dance Band back in Ghana. Like Fela, he is always pushing forward, constantly reconceptualising his sound and attuning it for a new generation. Part teacher, part messenger, listen to Yen Ara and you will not only hear the high-energy afrobeat, sweet highlife, jazz and konkoma influences that he’s famous for, but also a disco pulse and hardhitting percussive edge to the tracks, which were produced by Justin Adam (Tinariwen, Rachid Taha, Robert Plant) and recorded in the live room at Electric Monkey Studio in Amsterdam.

His group, the Saltpond City Band, are all handpicked local musicians featuring two of his sons. An appropriate line-up on an album whose titles means “we”. And they are on fine form, ripping through tracks such as Krumandey (a surefire party starter) and Mind Your Own Business (a simple message delivered over a frenetic drum rhythm). Elsewhere, Aboa Kyirbin will please fans of tough afrobeat grooves, while Taylor could well be inciting a riot at his next gig with Mumudey Mumudey, We hear him calling for ‘preshaaah’ and leading us into a call and response as the trumpet takes us higher. And the lift of those horns on Ankoma’m evokes some of his finest work such as Love and Death and Come Along, the latter recorded with the Pelikans and featured on a recent Mr Bongo reissue.

Yen Ara

Music GB

Buy Ebo Taylor - Yen Ara (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.