For the previous six a long time, Ghana has held a Nationwide Competition of Arts and Tradition that takes place biannually. Appearing as a cultural collage of the nation’s 16 areas, the occasion unifies Ghana’s music, traditions, and heritage – that includes every little thing from singing and dancing to atunpan drum ensembles. The competition highlights the nation’s wealthy cultural diaspora by merging its artwork kinds. The spirit of the competition rumbles via ‘Monchorome Radio’, the most recent mission from Accra’s rising collective SuperJazzClub.
“Our sound usually is fusion,” group member Ansah Dwell explains. “It’s us taking totally different components from totally different locations, like bossa nova, hip-hop, Afrobeat, R&B, jazz, and making an attempt to suit them collectively in a means that is smart for us.”
Impressed by seminal West African musicians like M.anifest, beat-makers Jay Q, Da’Hammer, and PAQ, in addition to Western contemporaries Sampha and Pharrell Williams, the collective represents the polished, playful pulse of Accra’s rising music sphere. That includes artists, producers, filmmakers, and DJs alike, the group goals to interrupt the boundaries of linear creativity.
The group’s mission assertion was their debut single ‘Couple Black Children’ – an Øbed-produced orchestral jam loaded with crisp jazz prospers and spoonfuls of charisma. Their debut EP ‘For All of the Good Instances’ landed in September 2020, and traversed hip-hop breaks and melancholic funk, binding every passage along with clean interludes.
Following current performances at RecessLand and Cross the Tracks, the group have dropped ‘Monochrome Radio’. The EP juxtaposes themes of karma and hazard on the swampy ‘911’ with the luxurious, occasion grooves of ‘Free’. NME sat down with the group on a balmy Thursday afternoon in south-east London to be taught extra about their journey to this point.
NME: The place ought to a brand new listener begin together with your discography?
Joeyturks: “You can begin with ‘Monochrome Radio’, which is the up to date model of the place we’re at proper now, or you might begin with our first track, ‘Couple Black Children.’ That track introduces the collective with a message saying, ‘Yo, these are the cool youngsters from Ghana.’ It’s an awesome place to begin to get to know us.”
Tano: “We’ve developed right into a extra versatile collective, however we nonetheless maintain true to our roots from when ‘Couple Black Children’ was launched. Not too long ago, we’ve been broadening our sound. ‘Couple Black Children’ isn’t a serious departure from the place we are actually. Information like ‘Bordeaux,’ ‘Too Early,’ and ‘MAD’ seize particular moments in our lives at the moment. It’s cool to look again on.”
You’ve described your sound as Afro-fusion. Is your experimental model deliberate or has it developed naturally over time?
Ansah: “I’d say that it’s each. Naturally, it simply comes off that means as a result of we grew up listening to various things and have totally different preferences. So, six totally different concepts and backgrounds come collectively as soon as we’re within the studio. Naturally, once we go to make a track, it exhibits in that method, even with out consciously making an attempt to take action.
“As we lay out the concept, sure features grow to be extra acutely aware choices. We ask ourselves, ‘Will we need to maintain this rap right here? Ought to we add extra singing? Ought to this sound extra R&B or extra Afro?’ So, I might say it’s a mix of natural influences and acutely aware choices.”
How does your output align with the various musical panorama of Ghana?
BiQo: “Yeah, Pat Thomas, the Ghanaian singer, is a giant affect. , it’s not simply in regards to the music – it’s in regards to the journey, the self-discipline, and the concept of sustaining a profession. It’s inspiring to see how artists earlier than us have created long-lasting sounds. That’s what we’re making an attempt to do.
“I’m comfortable you requested that as a result of typically folks don’t know a lot in regards to the historical past of Ghanaian music and the artists who paved the way in which. A number of the greater artists earlier than us have been round for 30–40 years, and their music has crossed over. So, these are a few of the folks we glance as much as.”
How did that ethos lend itself to the sound and vibe of ‘Monochrome Radio’?
Ansah: “We listened to lots of timeless artists and folks we seemed as much as. Once more, not only for direct inspiration. Generally simply to grasp them higher. I like Pharrell and Sampha so much. I love Brian Eno as a result of he mastered rock, nation, and ambient music. We’d prefer to assume our sound naturally brings in various influences, too.”
Credit score: Babajide Osho
In what means is ‘Monochrome Radio’ a development from ‘ACT’ singles trilogy and your ‘For All of the Good Instances’ EP?
Joeyturks: “The older tasks don’t examine, ‘Monochrome Radio’ is a step up in high quality.”
Ansah: “On the primary mission, there was some bossa nova stuff, some very gradual atmosphere, jungle stuff, and Afrobeat, too. ‘Monochrome Radio’ is principally an improved, refined model of ‘For All of the Good Instances’. The songwriting is healthier this time round. It’s a fusion of outdated Ghanaian classics and songs from all over the world that we like. There are some extra UK influences right here, too. We set to work with BenjiFlow, he was nice, and we have been mutual followers of one another. We did a few tracks, however ‘UNO’ was the one for us.”
BiQo: “‘For All of the Good Instances’ was extra like Jordan in his rookie 12 months: simply tremendous excited to place your self on the market. Now, with ‘Monochrome Radio’ we really feel just like the ’96 Chicago Bulls [laughs].”
Tano: “I feel we have been extra challenged this time round, creatively. Some concepts – nicely one track – took longer to type than the others. Everyone is aware of which track was probably the most tough to make [group laughter]. ‘OFF’ was undoubtedly the toughest to complete. Yeah, that was the primary document we began, and it was the final one to complete. It was the primary we started and the final we accomplished.”
Let’s speak about your newest single ‘911’. How did that track come about?
Øbed: “Yeah, ‘911’ got here collectively rather well. I feel Ansah made the drums after which despatched them my means. I went over to his home, and he performed it. I put it into Ableton, then began shopping for some chords and stumbled upon these chords. We each performed them and thought, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ So, I laid that down, and that’s it.”
Seyyoh: “I consider we have been at Vibrate Studios the day we made that monitor, experimenting with new concepts. Each time there’s a beat or a demo, all of us take activates the mic, sharing any melodic ideas or track concepts. So, I laid down my concepts, and others did the identical, constructing on prime of the final concept.”
Is navigating egos and artistic pressure as a six-piece ever difficult?
Seyyoh: “I feel we all the time discover a stability. It’s a collective effort, and since there’s six of us, any one among may disagree, or assume their idea is healthier. However we all the time work it out pretty.”
Joeyturks: A few of us are notably good with visuals, however everybody nonetheless contributes to the sonic world of SuperJazzClub in some form or type. Nobody is restricted. In case your energy is visuals, it doesn’t cease you from beginning an concept or making sounds your self. You’ll be able to method anybody with a brand new idea. I’m a producer, however that doesn’t cease me from making a cool visible therapy, too. All of it begins with a dialog. We’re free.”
SuperJazzClub’s ‘Monochrome Radio’ EP is out now
