In 1981, London based E.G. Records released the debut album from a young Ghanaian group called Edikanfo. The eight-piece band was the last group to be managed by Faisal Helwani, a charismatic impresario who was based at the popular Napoleon Club in Osu, a suburb in Ghana’s teeming capital Accra. Edikanfo quickly rose to international notoriety following the release of “The Pace Setters” because of the infectious, forward-looking highlife meets afro-funk synthesis the band committed to tape. But the album also caught an additional wind of publicity due to its producer, the already legendary British musician and sound conceptualist Brian Eno.

But just when the sky seemed the limit for Edikanfo, the coup d’état in Ghana on the last day of 1981, tragically put the brakes on the band’s quickly developing fortunes. For years after that, the country endured enforced curfews at night, which of course ultimately gutted the live music scene in Accra and elsewhere. Because of this and other financial setbacks, the band ceased activity and its members spread out in exile, all over the world. It clearly seemed as though the story of Edikanfo, one of Ghana’s greatest bands of that era, had come to a premature end.

Now, almost four decades later, Edikanfo has returned. And with its surviving members gearing up to reissue and tour their classic 1981 album, “The Pace Setters,” the band is once again excitedly pointed towards the future.

credits

released May 8, 2020

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flugelhorn, Percussion, Vocals – Paa Akrashie
Arranged By – Edikanfo Super Band*
Bass, Percussion, Vocals – Gilbert Amartey
Congas, Talking Drum, Vocals – Albert Williams (4)
Design [Cover] – George Afriyie-Siaw
Drums, Lead Vocals – George Williams (15)
Engineer [Assistant] – Sami Helwani
Engineer [Recording, Mix] – Jacob Serdro*
Executive-Producer, Arranged By – Faisal Helwani
Guitar [Lead], Vocals – Kwesi Okran*
Percussion, Drums [Master], Vocals – William Quist
Piano, Synthesizer, Ensemble [String], Vocals – Ishmael Odai
Producer, Engineer [Recording, Mix] – Brian Eno
Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals – Osei Tutu