Wazumbians show class on the US tour
After witnessing their scintillating Juneteenth set at SOBs, a legendary live music venue in lower Manhattan’s neighbourhood of SoHo, it is easy to see why The Wazumbians are considered one of the top live acts in Ghana.
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The percussion-rich seven-member group, which played the gig, was just a fraction of the full band, which has over 20 members.
The sound was, however, honed to sharp Afrofusion grooves based in Highlife, Afrobeat and indigenous rhythms that seamlessly stretched one into the next over the 90-minute set.
The band is charting its own course following the vision of its leader, Francis Chapman Abban-Hagan, more broadly known as ‘Wazumbi’.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wazumbians started Jankalanga, a monthly live broadcast on Facebook, from the ASK-TK studios in Accra.
“Jankalanga is a festival I created to present African rhythms, melodies, knowledge and stories, sometimes alone, sometimes with other artists.”
They reached a wide audience.
They discovered a paradox; even though their music was rooted in Ghana, it was more popular with international audiences and in Nigeria than it was at home.
Analytics told them they were reaching international ears in a far greater number.
The Western world appreciates our kind of rhythm, while artists in Ghana are leaving what belongs to Ghana and are focusing on Western music styles.”
Their set at SOBs featured music from their current album, ‘Takonasi’ which means ‘under the big tree’ in the Fante language of Ghana.
The big tree is a place in the town where people gather after work to play games, tell stories and play music.
Traditional story-telling songs, hard work and patience form the subject of some of the songs on the album.
The music is more experimental, exploring fusions of modern and indigenous rhythms.
The Wazumbians were joined by dancer Mary2Drum for a joyous set at the International African Arts Festival in Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn’s oldest park.
The crowd was taken by surprise by the band’s intensity as they ripped into their Highlife and Afrobeat distilled through the infectious good energy.
The band has upcoming gigs in Atlanta, Philadelphia, the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington DC, Chicago and the Flipside Festival in Idaho.
“Not only Ghana but Africa is inclusive in what we do,” Francis said about the music.
The foundation is percussion. Songs on the ‘Takonasi’ album include ‘On My Way Home’, ‘Aku Kweku’, ‘Ndidi Amaka’, ‘I Love You Baby’ and ‘Ayakataa’, an Afrobeat rhythm-based song about holding politicians accountable.
Francis said: “It’s a song we did to draw attention to how to hold the politicians to their words.”
Musicians in the band apart from Francis include Desmond Kwame Bonney, Karimu Kada (percussion), Isaac Twum (bass) and Prince Kwame Addo (trumpet).
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Francis began his professional career as a producer, sound engineer and multi-instrumentalist and now owns TF Productions in Accra.
“I came to music through my sound engineering,” he says.
Trained by the well-known Ghanaian sound engineer, Sarge, Francis worked with various gospel artists, Ras Minano, 2Face, Righteous Man and Paapa Yankson, among others.
He went on to be the musical director for Black Rasta’s band and started The Wazumbians in 2016.
The writer is a US-based music journalist
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