The Rough Guide to Highlife

The consistently reliable Rough Guide compilation series has delved into West African music on many occasions and this latest version of their Rough Guide to Highlife is to their usual high standard. Highlife has its roots in anglophone early 20th century colonial times and is, in its earliest incarnation, a fusion of jazz and African tradition.

The style has evolved over time but this collection focuses on classic highlife, with a more joyous and optimistic slant than the contemporary urban hip-hop version known as hip-life. There are several tracks here that can rightfully be described as all-time classics. Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe’s ‘Osondo Owendi’, a Nigerian hit that, clocking in at 11 minutes, takes the listener on a gloriously languid guitar-led journey. A gently incessant rhythm section underpins a lazy and slightly intoxicated vocal that has stabs of wah-wah guitar weaving around it.

Other obvious inclusions are artists like Sir Victor Uwaifo, Celestine Ukwu and Dr Victor Olaiya – three of Nigeria’s greatest highlife artists – who feature here on impressive dance band tracks. Representative of the more subdued and acoustic version of highlife known as palm-wine is veteran Ghanaian singer and guitarist Koo Nimo, now in his late 70s, performing a new recording that helps to show that old-school acoustic highlife is still valid. Another variation is gospel highlife, heard here via a truly uplifting track from the Genesis Gospel Singers. Another track of particular note is a mid-60s offering from Fela Kuti, several years before he developed his Afro-beat style.

As a bonus this package has a second CD, which is a reissue of a Riverboat Records release called Seprewa Kasa. It’s a delightful acoustic highlife album featuring guitar, percussion and the seprewa – a smaller version of the harp¬like kora. It’s a lively, joyous and funky sound and, like most highlife music, was designed to put a smile on your face.