African Music Exploration

(Picture via Dreams in Audio)

The news about the Next Stop...Soweto compilation launched me into a full fledged hunt for good African music, spanning most of the past weekend. I've decided to share the fruits of my hunting interspersed throughout the next couple of weeks, mixed in with the usual fare. To kick it off, I have two songs from the Ghana Special compilation from Soundway Records. Akoko Ba is a fantastic piece of afro-beat jazz, with a very funky rhythm and some great horn solos and vocals. Kai Wawa has a much more traditional feel, though still with some pretty heavy jazz influences. Both great tracks.
Akoko Ba - Gyedu-blay Ambolley & His Creations
Kai Wawa - The Mercury Dance Band
(I stress again that these mp3s are for sampling only, if you like it, please support the guys who tracking down and then digging through mountains of rare vinyl to bring this to you)