POSTED ON
December 28, 2014
the Professional Happy Stars Band
in Osibi, led by Love Nortey
Ride Away Stores
When I found this lp by the Happy Stars, it was my first
encounter with the group. They started out in 1956 but
only gained succes after their second revival in 1960.
The highlife on this album is played in, as they have
called it, ‘osibi tune’. I do not know what makes it
osibi but think it sounds very nice. On side one
all songs are melted together as one, on side
two they are seperated, enjoy..
tracks;
1 Nakwa ayebi
– Se manware no a mewu
– Onipa ne dabre mu
– Asante kotoko
– Asuo yaa
2 Maame abenaa
3 Senketenkete
4 Dada yi ara
5 Ankonam
6 Wano asem pii
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Thank You Moos… Its always a delight coming here and I like how you spice up my weekends…keep them coming
Hello Moos!
Osibi?!?
I had hope that “Tuesday Boakye” will grant you enlightenment, he’s a born while I was a foreigner only.
1) Osibi is a spot in the Eastern Region, near the Volta Lake, but this has nothing to do with this Osibi.
2) Highlife is a blend of different music styles. In olden days Highlife was called Osibisaba a word in Fante.
There are different styles of Highlife (the most known: danceband – guitar – palmwine), Osibi (style) is more near
to it’s roots and is based (I was told many years ago) on a music which was played by Fante fishermen.
Does it kelp you?
best regards / Thomas
thanks Thomas, exactly the kind of info we needed.
I believe what you say, I still find it difficult to hear the difference though..
you are right …. Osibi is a coastal form of highlife by the fante fishermen but ironically my first taste of it was from an Ashanti Afrikah Jah band of Ghana album recorded in Nigeria. Many great bands have used the name like Osibisa Band which is one of the internationally renowned bands from Ghana. I have heard so many diffferent forms of this Osibi style that I cant even make it out anymore but you can have a feel of the original one done by the fante fishermen when you search youtube for the movie “love brewed in the african pot”… the award winning film was produced in 1981 by Kwaw Ansah and has a wrestling scene at the beach where the fishermen sing the original Osibi during friendly wrestling matches at the beach…. I believe it originally was a morale song to encourage them during rowing of their boats or similar beach sports they used to entertain themselves
This is a great one that has somehow managed to elude me all these years, happy to come across it. The first track is sooo fantastic! You would think at 17 minutes that it would run it’s course but it’s so infectious that I keep putting on repeat. Those early Ride Away releases are some of my favorites. And what a sweet sleeve. Thanks Moos, you’re the man.
MD
NYC