Record Boy Ink:

Record Boy is always on the alert for cool music. Picking up Osei Tutu’s new album "Awakening" (Tinder Records) however was an accident.

Y’see, I was in the mood for some African guitar music and remembered hearing a snippet of Tutu’s work on NPR some time back. Turns out that my memory was faulty (he’s not a guitarist) but I wasn’t disappointed with the results of my purchase.

Osei Tutu is from the West African country of Ghana. His sound is modern Highlife. Highlife music was an imported ballroom style music oriented to Ghana’s privileged class. Starting in the late 1940s, bands began incorporating more West African melodies and rhythms into the sound. Modern Highlife music adds electric instruments and a little Carribean reggae flavor. I guess knowing this stuff makes Record Boy a Ghanacologist!

Anyway, what struck me immediately about "Awakenings" was the rhythm section…specifically bass player Franky Mweley and drummer Hubert Colau ( very appropriately nick named "The Groove Man"), augmented by percussionist Patrick Gorce. These guys dig deep and create the most solid groove this side of Sly & Robbie. Truly amazing musicians that will delight you.

Osei Tutu himself is a wonderful, expressive singer. Once again Record Boy listened for weeks to songs sung in a foreign language ( Tutu sings in his local dialect as well as in French and heavily accented English on a cover of Fela Kuti’s "Gentleman") and didn’t refer to the translated lyrics in the booklet. Heck, I still can’t figure out the words to "Tumbling Dice", but that never hampered my enjoyment of the tune!

Turns out that Tutu’s lyrics are like haikus… beautifully poetic, short and to the point. For example: "Poverty is not a curse yet it makes so many of us suffer throughout the world". Somehow he manages to squeeze all those lyrics into a 4 minute and 32 second song!

The point is you take an expressive singer with a tough groovin’ rhythm section, add the Highlife style horns and guitar and the female back up singers and you got yourself one jammin’ CD.

So take it from Record Boy… if yer Ghana buy one African music CD this year…make it Osei Tutu’s "Awakening".