K Frimpong (Blue & Black)

Ever since K Frimpong’s music first started reappearing on compilations a decade or so ago, original copies of his LPs have regularly exchanged hands for hundreds of dollars. On the strength of these two CDs, it is easy to see why. Less stentorian than Afrobeat and arguably more accessible than highlife, Frimpong’s soaring vocals and arrangements, backed by the elastic syncopation of the Vis-A-Vis band (or Cubano Fiestas, as they were known on these 70s albums) is a winning combination.

What’s a puzzle therefore is how frustratingly light on information or context each of these releases are. Secret Stash is primarily a vinyl reissue label, and to make these two releases available again remastered and in their original format can only be a good thing for fans and collectors. But for the CD issue the cheap presentation and absence of any effort to flesh out the story of this mythic group makes these two releases little better than a digital download. Labels today complain of dwindling sales, but when such fantastic music is presented with such paucity of imagination, is it frankly any wonder? Still, tracks like ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adu M’awu’ or ‘Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena’ groove so hard it hurts. Each instrument is locked into a rhythmic matrix of bass, guitar, drums and percussion and they dip in and out of each other with head-nodding ease. It’s some of the finest music Ghana produced from this era.