MEMORIES OF AFRICA

Memories of Africa, the new album by Papa Appiah may someday become
a hit, or it may not. Be it as it may, posterity will remember Papa Appiah as the guy who came from nowhere, did his own thing and left, leaving a train of baffled music lovers behind.
This album is distinctly Ghanaian and yet different. Are you confused? You are not alone. For while hye me bo (track 4) and all night long (track 2) are distinctly hi-life, adjoa serwaa (track 1) has an obvious jazzy influence to it. The title track could easily have come from an Osibisa repertoire both in the nature of the nostalgic lyrics and the guitar rhythms. Is old tradition (track 5) reggae? What about the mid-tempo love (track 6)? This album goes beyond conventional classification. It is Papa Appiah’s music and the tracks differ so much from one to the other, that were it not for the ever present passionate, emotional, gravelly voice of Papa, one could well be listening to eight different composers. You would never get bored listening to this album.
Shunning the current trend of computer programming, Papa put together a crack team of top musicians to make this album. The pan-african guitar rhythms stem from the one and only Kari Bannerman of Boombaya and Osibisa fame. Love Paapa Kwabina does his own thing on drums. Gary Birtles and Tony Robinson are the regular horns men of the Beautiful South and they lend a certain solemnity to the tunes. Paulina Oduro and Gloria
Wiafe Akenteng do a brilliant job on the backing vocals. The message in the album cover aptly sums up the feeling in this piece of work;
For all of you who have left loved ones at home and dream each day of happier times long gone…..
For all those who yearn for Bantama kelewele, kwasiada anopa mmotuo and circle kenkey and fish…..
For our people back home who toil daily to keep our dreams alive…..
Memories of Africa…..enjoy it.

John Watson
Freelance journalist
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