Okyerema Asante - Drum Message DOUBLE LP
SKU: STRUT247LP
Description:
Strut return to the rich archives of Black Fire Records for the
Drum Message album by Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante
from 1977.
After playing a short spell early in his career with Ebo Taylor’s
Blue Monks band at Tip Toe’s in Accra, Asante joined the fledgling
Hedzoleh Soundz during the early ‘70s at their Napoleon Club
residency in the city. After playing Fela’s Shrine, Fela
recommended them to Hugh Masekela as an ideal backing band and
Hedzoleh joined Masekela on a US tour in December 1973. Sharing the
same management company, Charisma, Asante first met Plunky and
Oneness Of Juju during an East coast tour with Masekela, starting a
relationship with the band that has endured until today.
Recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington D.C. in October 1977 and
featuring musicians from Oneness alongside Gil Scott Heron cohort
Brian Jackson on piano, Drum Message represents an important
milestone for Asante: “This album really came from my heart. I
wanted to project the African spirit in the music and come out with
some unique African jazz. To be able to record it on Black Fire was
extra special.” The album also involved some serious physical
graft: “The studio was up on the 14th Floor and the elevator was
often broken down. I showed up with a van full of African drums and
Jimmy Gray from Black Fire and myself had to carry them all the way
up there, each day!”
The resultant album was well worth the sweat. ‘Adowa’ adds jazz
arrangements to a traditional Asante rhythm and Oneness classic
‘Follow Me’ is skilfully re-worked (“I used the bass drum in place
of the bass guitar so it was all based on rhythms.”). New versions
of Asante dancefloor favourite ‘Sabi’ sit alongside the mellow
groove of ‘Asante Sana’ (“I wanted something cool like reggae or
highlife on that track, a similar vibe. So, I went in
between.”).
Format & package: Double LP + 12"sized
booklet
Record label: Strut / Black
Fire
Year of release: 5 november 2021
(reissued)
Tracks:
A1 Drum Message
A2 Asante Sana
A3 Follow Me
B1 Sabi
B2 Mother Africa
B3 Never Fly Away From The Funk
C1 Play A Sweet Rhythm On Them Drums
C2 Adowa
C3 Sabi (Black Fire House Mix)
D1 Kazi's Awakening
D2 To The Ancestor's
| Specification | Description |
|---|---|
| Weight | 0,4 Kg |
