Kon Koma

Ghanaians Alfred ‘Kari’ Bannerman and Emmanuel Rentzos have long been mainstays of the UK African scene. Guitar virtuoso Bannerman has buoyed the sound of many an Afro-jazz band since founding the teenage Afro-rock outfit Boombaya in Accra some three decades ago; his clean, ringing lines have graced recordings by the stellar likes of ET Mensah and SE Rogie. Keyboardist Rentzos has played with everyone from Eddie Quansah to Toots & the Maytals. Both men are long-term members of Osibisa, the evergreen crew who’ve enjoyed varying degrees of success since forming in London in 1969. With the resurgence of interest in Ghanaian retro stylings, the clever folk at Soundway – who actually kick-started this resurgence with their acclaimed compilation Ghana Soundz – have snapped up KonKoma, a band built around Bannerman and Rentzos. Fusing Afro-funk, jazz and soul with African traditional rhythms and exuding the sort of confidence that comes from a deep well of experience and a raft of new ideas, KonKoma play their uptempo tunes strong but easy. Credit is due to saxophonist Max Grunhard and producer Benedic Lamdin, the visionaries behind the project: their production, along with mixing by the vintage-friendly Prince Fatty, has the sort of rich resonance that Soundway are famed for.

Various vocalists, including the extrovert Nii Tagoe of London’s Pan African Dance Ensemble, lend requisite urgency to Afro-funk wig-outs such as ‘Kpanlogo’ and the sax-fuelled, psychedelia-flecked opener ‘Lie Lie’. ‘Sibashaya Woza’ borrows from traditional Zululand as it chugs and funks; throughout, keyboards and guitar vie and blend in ways fabulously louche, yet effortlessly tight.