Moving World

Description

Power funk from Ghana with elements of jazz and prog and some moments of afrobeat/highlife. In 1974, a cheeky young designer named Augustus Kerry Taylor had an idea. He gathered Ghana's top musicians and recorded an album of the heaviest, funkiest sounds from America. And this time, he wouldn't just design the sleeve, as he had done with Fela Kuti, he would also release the album on his new label, Emporium. Local Accra legends Joe Wellington, Jagger Botchway, Leslie Addy, Officer Toro, Oko Ringo, Soldier and Steve answered the call. They were christened the Kelenkye Band and immediately felt at home. Moving World is a funky, disparate album that exudes a rare warmth, enthusiasm and solidarity. "Moving World" and "Brotherhood of Man" are hard, gritty funk. "Jungle Music" has a more soulful groove. There's also a bit of reggae, with "Dracula Dance", and old-skool highlife, with "Wale Tobite". Accra's top DJ, Charlie Sam, said his mind was "well and truly boggled". The Kelenkye Band never recorded another album. Augustus Kerry Taylor closed Emporium and went back to drawing record sleeves. But with Moving World, they achieved a perfect moment of funk alchemy that has rightly become the Holy Grail of 70s Ghanaian groove. - Peter Moore / License granted by the album's bandleaders and songwriters, Joe Wellington and Jagger Botchway.