Santrofi Group thrilled music fans with fantastic live performance last Saturday in a concert held at the Alliance Française in Accra.
Santrofi seems to be on a mission to dominate highlife genre in Ghana and the international landscape.
With many successful international concerts under their belt so far, and credit for giving birth to a plethora of fresh and talented new highlife faces, Santrofi seems to have found a comfortable home both in Ghana and Europe.
The Santrofi troupe is dedicated to preserving the rich traditions of Asante Traditional music and culture, primarily through the vibrant sounds of highlife music. Its diverse members bring a wealth of cultural understanding and deep-rooted appreciation to this mission.
What sets Santrofi apart is their skillful incorporation of traditional instruments like the Ng’ombe (a unique horn), the resonant Ilimba (a wooden xylophone), and the soulful Orutu (a single-stringed instrument). These instruments, coupled with their dynamic dance performances and captivating vocals, collectively offer an authentic and immersive cultural journey.”
The fifth edition of the convert dubbed “Deep into Highlife,” the event shone light on the historical journey of Ghana’s Highlife music.
From the funky Highlife of the 60’s to the disco Highlife of the late 70’s and then to the Afro-highlife of today, Highlife has been around reinventing itself in amazing and ever-changing methodologies. The concert seeks to open a new chapter in this historic and dramatic story.
The concert was a cooperation between Santrofi from Ghana, Outhere Records – a highly-acclaimed German record company, and Eiden Music Agency – which is well known for touring bands from Brazil, Africa, UK and around the world.
According to the leader of Santrofi Band, Emmanuel Kodwo Ofori, Ghana is blessed with several rhythms and melodies across the 16 regions which had not been tapped to increase Ghana’s gains as well as a presence in these moments of a global music competition.
Ofori, known for his work with Highlife legend, Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas’ Kwashibu Area Band, said the advocacy should not be regarded as “noise” since Ghana stood the chance of losing out big time on the world stage without Highlife.
“Let’s be truthful, Ghanaian Highlife has slipped off the radar, despite dominating West Africa in the era following the Second World War. Santrofi and other bands are determined to revive the fortunes of music that offers a lighter alternative to other music genres,” Ofori said.
Santrofi Band members are Bass, Emmanuel Ofori; Lead Electric Guitar, Dominic Quarchie; Load Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Robert ‘Nsoroma’ Koomson; Trombone and Shekere, Bernard Gyamfi; Trumpet, Flugelhorn and Bell, Norbert Wonkyi; Drums and Vocals, Prince Larbi; Keyboards and Vocals, Emmanuel Boakye Agyeman, and Percussion, Victor Nii Amoo.
They released their debut album, Alewa, in 2020 and the project depicted the impact of Ghana’s Highlife music’s journey through several, yet interwoven eras.
