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The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember, photographed for Common, curated by Khanya Mashabela, 6 May – 26 July 2023. Image courtesy of A4 Arts Foundation.
Title Stars of Ghana Date 1962 Authors Various Type Vinyl record

A compilation of highlife music from Ghana. Highlife is a music genre that started in West Africa, along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century during its history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and Western jazz melodies. It uses the melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional African music but is typically played with Western instruments. Highlife is characterised by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band and its use of the two-finger plucking guitar style.

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