Scholars of African and Atlantic history and cultures have been making use of popular music as a source for their research for some time now. In the case of Ghana there exists a rich heritage of popular music and there have been some releases of oldtime music so far. In the country of origin itself however re-issues of oldtime music generally are hard to come by. The compact disc "GHANA POPULAR MUSIC 1931-1957" is part of a larger project which seeks to adress this situation. It is a compilation of 21 titles of popular music recorded in Ghana between 1931 and 1957 by the Union Trading Company (UTC), that were originally published under the Parlophone label. A music cassette version for the Ghanaian market is to follow soon.
The Union Trading Company of Basel, Switzerland (or Basler Handelsgesellschaft) from the 1860s on played an important role on the Gold Coast and the three letters UTC have become a landmark in many Ghanaian towns. As a trading firm UTC no longer exists. Its archival holdings have been transferred to the archives of Mission21 (formerly Basel Mission) at Basel, Switzerland. The archives which are yet to be made accessible contain also a collection of 905 recordings of popular music from West Africa. The records feature 619 titles recorded in Ghana during the 30's and 50's and 108 titles recorded in Nigeria during the 50's.
This collection is an important source for scholars of African history and cultures and represents a significant part of the cultural heritage of these two West African nations. It is desired to make the this holding accessible by digitising it fully.
The compact disc "Ghana Popular Music 1931-1957" is the result of a pilot project assessing the collection and raising funds for its digitisation. The production of the CD has allowed us to make an inventory of the collection and to digitise more than 100 titles that are now accessible on CD-R to visitors to the archives. Copies will be transferred to the African Music Archives of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon on the occasion of a launching ceremony at Accra on the 4th of January 2002 taking place at the DuBois Centre.
The disc features a cross-section through the popular music of southern Ghana: Palm Wine Music, Guitar Band Highlife, Dance Band Highlife, Singing Bands and Church Choirs. An introductory text by Prof. Dr. John Collins of the African Studies Centre, Legon and the Bokoor African Popular Music Archives (BAPMAF) together with comments on and translations of the songs leads through the compilation under the heading FROM PALM WINE MUSIC TO DANCE BAND HIGHLIFE. The text is contained both in English and French in a 20-page booklet. The compilation takes listeners on a fascinating journey of discovery through a rich and complex metissage of influences, rythms and styles and avails itself as an instrument for teaching African history and cultures.
A compilation and project by Serena Dankwa (Swiss Radio DRS3) and Veit Arlt (Department of History, University of Basel)
For information on the digitisation project contact Veit.Arlt@stud.unibas.ch or check at http://www.scientific-african.de/ghanahighlife/
Compact Disc, ARN 64564
Disques Arion - 36, avenue Hoche - 75008 Paris
The disk should be available for purchase on Amazon.com soon. For information about obtaining a copy now, send an email message to: export@arion-music.com