Highlife Made In Germany

George Darko?s fascinating guitar licks, Charles Amoah?s grabbing stage antics and Bodo Staiger?s studio production skills. These elements and many more culminated in a style of music made in Germany but which fascinated many music fans in this country in the 1980s.

From April 4 to 28, we can all backtrack with the aid of lectures, workshops and performances lined up by the Goethe Institut and dubbed Made In Germany- A Celebration of Burger Highlife, to praise what made the era so captivating.

The United Kingdom was a favourite port of call for the early generation of ambitious Ghanaian musicians seeking to make something of their careers in the 1950s.

These included Rebop Kweku Baah, Speedy Nii Moi Acquaye and Ghanaba. Then came the Teddy Osei generation in the 1960s and subsequent ones who all embraced the U. K. to further their ambitions.

Other musicians, however, turned to Germany and sparked off a brand of highlife which came to be labelled 'burger highlife. Musicicians in that mould included George Darko, Charles Amoah, Rex Gyamfi, Nii Armah Gomez and McGod.

Their approach to music was informed by fusing characterics of mainly funk and jazz with lyrics or a singing style recognizably Ghanaian.

Naturally, there were debates about the pros and cons of the music but it prevailed and was very noticeable in the 1980s.

Recollection of that period kicks off with a lecture series looking at the music from historical perspectives at the Goethe Institut in Accra at 7.30pm on April 4.

Speakers at the function are Prof John Collins, Faisal Helwani, Nanabanyin Dadson, Enimil Ashong and Carl Agyeman Bannerman.

Producer and recording engineer, Panji Anoff, will coordinate technical workshops targeting musicians and sound and lighting engineers at the National Theatre from April 11 to 17 as part of the celebration.

Areas expected to be covered by the workshpos include burger highlife techniques, innovations, new creations and fusion, audio visual recording and mixing and lighting effects.

Two Germans who stand out as key contributors to the evolution of burger highlife will be part of a panel to delve into the packaging, marketing and distribution of the music on April 17.

They are musician, sound engineer and producer Bodo Staiger whose studio in Dusseldorf has recorded more burger highlife albums than any other studio in the world and Peter Krick, founder of the Skyline studio in Dusseldorf who has also worked with many Ghanaian artistes since 1984.

The other panelists to discuss the topic are Charles Amoah, George Darko, Pat Thomas and Chris Ankrah.

The celebration of burger highlife will be crowned with two live concerts. The first is at the National Theatre on April 21 with a repeat at the Kumasi Cultural Centre on April 28.

Both shows start at 8.00pm and will feature Daddy Lumba, Nana Acheampong, George Darko, Pat Thomas, Akyeame, Bob Fiscian and Charles Amoah.

If you loved and still remember songs like Akoo Te Brofo, Highlife Time, Fre Me, Me Ne Wo Begoro, Eye Odo Asem, Yereye Aka Akwantuo Mu, Theresa and others, then get set to understand the conditions and see the stars that created those hits next month.

George Darko?s fascinating guitar licks, Charles Amoah?s grabbing stage antics and Bodo Staiger?s studio production skills. These elements and many more culminated in a style of music made in Germany but which fascinated many music fans in this country in the 1980s.

From April 4 to 28, we can all backtrack with the aid of lectures, workshops and performances lined up by the Goethe Institut and dubbed Made In Germany- A Celebration of Burger Highlife, to praise what made the era so captivating.

The United Kingdom was a favourite port of call for the early generation of ambitious Ghanaian musicians seeking to make something of their careers in the 1950s.

These included Rebop Kweku Baah, Speedy Nii Moi Acquaye and Ghanaba. Then came the Teddy Osei generation in the 1960s and subsequent ones who all embraced the U. K. to further their ambitions.

Other musicians, however, turned to Germany and sparked off a brand of highlife which came to be labelled 'burger highlife. Musicicians in that mould included George Darko, Charles Amoah, Rex Gyamfi, Nii Armah Gomez and McGod.

Their approach to music was informed by fusing characterics of mainly funk and jazz with lyrics or a singing style recognizably Ghanaian.

Naturally, there were debates about the pros and cons of the music but it prevailed and was very noticeable in the 1980s.

Recollection of that period kicks off with a lecture series looking at the music from historical perspectives at the Goethe Institut in Accra at 7.30pm on April 4.

Speakers at the function are Prof John Collins, Faisal Helwani, Nanabanyin Dadson, Enimil Ashong and Carl Agyeman Bannerman.

Producer and recording engineer, Panji Anoff, will coordinate technical workshops targeting musicians and sound and lighting engineers at the National Theatre from April 11 to 17 as part of the celebration.

Areas expected to be covered by the workshpos include burger highlife techniques, innovations, new creations and fusion, audio visual recording and mixing and lighting effects.

Two Germans who stand out as key contributors to the evolution of burger highlife will be part of a panel to delve into the packaging, marketing and distribution of the music on April 17.

They are musician, sound engineer and producer Bodo Staiger whose studio in Dusseldorf has recorded more burger highlife albums than any other studio in the world and Peter Krick, founder of the Skyline studio in Dusseldorf who has also worked with many Ghanaian artistes since 1984.

The other panelists to discuss the topic are Charles Amoah, George Darko, Pat Thomas and Chris Ankrah.

The celebration of burger highlife will be crowned with two live concerts. The first is at the National Theatre on April 21 with a repeat at the Kumasi Cultural Centre on April 28.

Both shows start at 8.00pm and will feature Daddy Lumba, Nana Acheampong, George Darko, Pat Thomas, Akyeame, Bob Fiscian and Charles Amoah.

If you loved and still remember songs like Akoo Te Brofo, Highlife Time, Fre Me, Me Ne Wo Begoro, Eye Odo Asem, Yereye Aka Akwantuo Mu, Theresa and others, then get set to understand the conditions and see the stars that created those hits next month.