We Are in the War

Also known as Aduko Saabo, Prince Buju is the latest luminary to gain exposure through Makkum Records, the Amsterdam-based label founded by guitarist Arnold de Boer, which has already showcased the talents of King Ayisoba, whom the press release describes as ‘a really good friend’ of Prince Buju. Both Buju and Ayisoba sing and play the kologo, a lute with gourd resonator, a wooden neck and two strings made from nylon fishing line. Even though it's a simple recording, made in a single day, you can hear the bass and treble sounds of each string and the bottle-top rattles attached to it

Like King Ayisoba, Buju strums the kologo with a near-relentless 6/8 groove and sings in passionate, rapid-fire blurts of the Frafra language, with occasional passages in English, as in the title-track concerning the strife of modern life. His other songs deal with emotional subjects, such as the loss of his mother. Fans of other Ghanaian music, such as the much mellower gospel and highlife of the south should realise that this upbeat kologo music from the north-eastern Sahelian region, of Ghana is quite a far cry from them, as any of the videos of Prince Buju makes clear.