It's been years of strife, of failure and disappointments, of joy and of sorrow, but I think I can finally confirm, that the long-awaited album by Papa Appiah, "Suicide Note", is coming out for sure this month. If anybody had told me when I started strumming my guitar along the beeches of Cape Coast several years ago that it would take nearly thirty years to get an album out, I would not have believed them. Fruitless years in medical school and a hopeless career delivering babies on labour wards in NHS hospitals are partly to blame. But the musical spirit that tormented my soul for years has finally triumphed.
I have been keenly aware of the fact that this could possibly be the only album I ever manage to release and so nothing has been left to chance. In recording this album, I employed the services of Ghana's most celebrated international 
musical producer, Kwame Yeboah, with whom I have forged a musical partnership that hopefully, will last long beyond this album. And boy is the guy a genius. It takes literally two hours in the studio with Kwame to convert a failing song into a monster hit. He has a musical touch that is simply a gift from God. Kwame is a multi-instrumentalist who plays most of the instruments on the album except percussion, which is so efficiently done by Ghana's renowned percussionist, Nana Tsiboe.
But the album still needed something extra. So I googled for an online horns arranger and a name came up, Terry Townson. I had neither heard of him, nor heard anything he had done before. I was simply happy to have found somebody who was dedicated to arranging horns in songs. For after all, I could have brought horns men in to play for me but would not have had a clue what to direct them to play. So I sent Terry an email.
"Hi Terry, I have a challenge for you. I have a few Afr
My email may have amused him but may also have triggered some intellectual and professional curiosity in him. He responded within 10 minutes.
"Send me one song first. I'll listen to some African songs with horns in them and we'll see what we can do"
And that was the beginning. After he had agreed to do the work, I decided to research on him further, only to nearly collapse in shock. Terry Townson is a Grammy Award winning horns arranger and largely regarded as one of the best trumpeters in the world. But what a guy. His humility and dedication to his work was an example to me. Again, he became a good friend of mine and hope to continue working with him well into the future.
This has turned out to be an album produced by top world class producers and mixed in top recording studios in Europe and the result is amazing. The ballard, "Just Friends", with its intricate horn arrangement, will be released as a single in Europe. Window Love, a song I wrote in the university about nocturnal nefarious activities that most teenagers in our time often engaged in, is bound to go down a storm in Ghana. The track "Old Tradition", an "africoblues" tune expressing heartbreak and torment, is better heard than explained.
There was a joke flying around when I was a little boy in Cape Coast. The adults used to enjoy sharing it but little knew, that we overheard it all. A young lady who had just had a round of sex with an older man turned to the man and asked
There was a joke flying around when I was a little boy in Cape Coast. The adults used to enjoy sharing it but little knew, that we overheard it all. A young lady who had just had a round of sex with an older man turned to the man and asked
"Uncle, have you finished?"
"Why do you ask?" The man responded
"I just wanted to know if I could wear my panties and go" the girl answered
"Silly you, lie down!! Do you think Oguaa Cedi is a joke? I'm going to pee and come back for 4 more rounds!!"
Oguaa Cedi, the song, humorously expresses these sentiments in a solid africoblues rhythm that is sure to send fans dancing all night long. The album is designed for the World Music scene, but there is sure enough there to get the fans raving back home in Ghana. It's been 30 years, but believe me, it's been worth the wait.
Thanks for your support and prayers.
"Silly you, lie down!! Do you think Oguaa Cedi is a joke? I'm going to pee and come back for 4 more rounds!!"
Oguaa Cedi, the song, humorously expresses these sentiments in a solid africoblues rhythm that is sure to send fans dancing all night long. The album is designed for the World Music scene, but there is sure enough there to get the fans raving back home in Ghana. It's been 30 years, but believe me, it's been worth the wait.
Thanks for your support and prayers.
Papa Appiah
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