Bokoor Beats
Label: Otrabanda
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Bokoor Beats
With so much (deserved) attention focused on the Afrobeat and highlife music that came out of Lagos in the ’60s and ’70s, it’s easy to assume that Nigeria was the only country on the continent that was churning out those slinky, sweaty grooves. Plainly, that wasn’t the case, and explorers are steadily discovering scenes from other cities in the region. John Collins’ Bokoor Studio in Accra, Ghana, may not have the cachet of the Kalakuta Republic, but having pulled from many of the same influences as Fela, it generated a great number of impressive cuts. This 12-track collection brings together highlights from nearly 20 years of the work Collins did, and it communicates the easy, casual vibe he strove for in the studio. Party-ready highlife numbers and day-long funk jams are deftly handled by Collins’ main band (the Bokoor Band) and several other acts that passed through his studio doors.
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2007.