Trotro

When Brian Shimkovitz, owner of the Awesome Tapes from Africa label, asked Ghanaian DJ Katapila if he could re-release his 2009 tape Trotro, the DJ was surprised – it had never been released, but was a hit in the pirated music shops of Kumasi.

Katapila makes electronic dance music, and various different vibes can be heard here, from acid house and early techno to more modern sounds such as azonto. More subtle influences come from Ghanaian traditional rhythms and international styles like salsa and zouk. Altogether, the sound is actually rather minimalist, which usually works in its favour. It can sometimes go a bit far though – some tracks are barely more than a drum-machine loop. All sounds heard on this album come from Katapila and his electronic wizardry. But there's an element that made the album difficult listening for this reviewer: the grating and incessant use of high, pitch-shifted vocal samples. It's quite interesting for a few pieces, but by the end of the album it becomes very irritating.

In a club, or as part of a DJ set, any of these tracks would probably go down well, but they don’t stand up as an album for focused listening.