A Trip to Bolgatanga

‘A bad attitude is like a flat tire / You can't go anywhere until you change it,’ declares King Ayisoba in the opening track of A Trip to Bolgatanga, the latest album in more than a decade by African Head Charge, the techno-reggae outfit founded by Jamaican percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and English producer Adrian Sherwood. Ayisoba, the famed kologo (two-stringed lute) player and griot growler, is one of many recruits enlisted for this ten-track sonic expedition to Bonjo's current hometown in north Ghana. The music comprises a curated collage of electronically processed horns, reeds, dub effects, wah-wah guitar, organ, synth and layers upon layers of percussion. ‘Accra Electronica’ emits a wonderfully funky retro-tribal aura. The dark, dirge-like ambience of ‘I Chant Too’ mellows the mood. ‘Passing Clouds’ accents the dancehall side of the equation; ditto ‘I’m a Winner’. The title track puts things in a swinging Afro-jazz context with a mellifluous piano/horn/kalimba arrangement. ‘Microdosing’, the most chilled track on Trip, offers a headphones-recommended mix of organ, synth, kalimba and percussion shimmering above a hip-swaying bass and percussion line. It's all one mighty dub jam party.