I'm Clyde Macfarlane, an NCTJ qualified journalist and illustrator.

Ebo Taylor’s guide to Highlife

Ebo Taylor was lucky enough to have been performing during the golden age of West African music. An early pioneer of the highlife genre, he continues to pursue new musical territory with his new backing band: the Afrobeat Academy. While the band warm up for their performance at Womad Festival, Ebo- sunglasses, cigarettes and portable radio- is engrossed in a newspaper. I interrupted his reading to ask a few questions.

Why was the early 70’s such an important period for West African music?

“This was the period that accelerated the development of highlife. People often talk about afrobeat, but afrobeat was a significant step from highlife. Afrobeat is heavily influenced by American funk, and entails more jazz and percussion. It’s more intricate than highlife. Highlife was cosmetic; after the influence of colonialism, all our songs were written in the major key. In contrast afrobeat is distinctly moody, and if pushed in the right direction it is actually more traditional. Afrobeat tends to be written in the minor keys, which is where our songs traditionally belong. It’s ancestral. The musical period now is carrying a blessing that was laid in the 70’s. When I got involved with these gentlemen…”

Ebo stops to introduce the band, most of whom are English. The band look up from their instruments. “This is Ben, he plays tenor. This is Andy… Andrew? I don’t know! I can’t work out who’s who anymore because my band are all white people!” Everyone laughs.

“…they call themselves the Afrobeat Academy. I was transfixed when they came to Accrato play. They played some of the songs that I wrote in the 70’s that didn’t really catch on, or perhaps didn’t send a message clearly enough. This period accelerated the development of highlife- some of the songs may have been forgotten, but they all had equal importance at the time.”

Who would you say are the most important names from this period?

“Athu Kennedy on trumpet, George Abonuah on tenor sax, George Amissah on alto sax. I played a lot with these three. They contributed and had such an important influence on the albums from which everything was derived. Part of the problem with records now is that the horns are always sampled; these guys were so good that it seems pointless to replicate what they did. Pat Thomas was a fantastic singer, as was Gyaydu Bley- he was very important for Ghanaian funk. Some of the key figures didn’t take the music too seriously.Rob Way, for example- he worked in a restaurant in Accra most of the time. Rob owns the restaurant now I think”

“Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango were obviously hugely important. Fela’s message that he sent in the 70’s is now reaching Europe, and it’s having a huge impact. He created afrobeat- what more can you say.