Highlife

Highlife on vinyl: dance music from West Africa

In short: Highlife emerged in the early 20th century in Ghana, then the Gold Coast: dance orchestras and guitar bands combined West African rhythms with horns and guitars. From Ghana, highlife spread to Nigeria – and became a forerunner of Afrobeat. The Vinyl Room currently has 13 highlife records.

What is highlife?

Rippling guitars, cheerful horns, a rhythm to dance to: from Nigeria come Prince Nico Mbarga with Rocafil Jazz and “Free Education”, Sir Warrior And His Oriental Brothers and Sir Waziri Oshomah with his Traditional Sound Makers.

From Ghana come Marijata with “This Is Marijata”; plus Kwasi Mantey with “Maahu”. How highlife developed is shown by the compilation “Afro Baby” and current music with highlife influences such as “Africa Today” by Nigerian trumpeter Etuk Ubong.

What to look for

Many highlife records first came out in West Africa, some later as reissues; label and country of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

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FAQ

Where does highlife come from? From Ghana in the early 20th century; later also from Nigeria.

What is the difference from Afrobeat? Highlife is older; Afrobeat later grew out of highlife, funk and jazz, among other things.

Which instruments shape highlife? Guitars, horns and percussion.

Is there current music with highlife influences? Yes – here, for example, Etuk Ubong with “Africa Today”.