LOCAL DIMENSION BAND (2006)
(GHANA UNIVERSITY BASED ‘PALMWINE’ HIGHLIFE GROUP)
LOCAL DIMENSION was started in 1997 by some students and staff of the Music and Dance Departments of the University of Ghana at Legon. This acoustic group combines guitar with West African instruments and plays a range of West African popular music styles: such as Guitar-Band Highlife, Palmwine Music, Afro-Beat, Congo Jazz (i.e. Soukous), northern Ghanaian Dagari-Fusions and songs in the traditional Adowa, Agbadza and Kpanlogo styles.
LOCAL DIMENSION features Aaron Bebe Sukura on seprewa harp-lute, xylophone, mbira thumb-piano and vocals with John Collins on guitar and harmonica. Percussion was initially supplied by Mary Agama (also vocals), Francis Akotuah and Isaac Accrong/ Frank Ata-Baah (on giant premprensua hand-piano) – later being replaced by Bernard ‘Solar’ Quarshie (on giant gome bass-drum) and percussionists Nii Okai and Emmanuel Kwashi. For several years the band also featured the late S. K. Oppong and T.O. Jazz (of Ampoumah’s guitar band). T.O. Jazz’s longtime percussionist and principal singer Peter Kojo Menu is still with the band.
LOCAL DIMENSION has performed many times in Accra and surrounding towns: at the Shangri-La Hotel, Afrikiko, the Goethe Institute, Bywells Club, the Alliance Francaise, Big Millie’s and the AAMA Beach Hotel at Kokrobite, the Paloma Club, the National Theatre, Sey’s Club in Tema, and the Matemasie and Legon Club programs of the University of Ghana.
LOCAL DIMENSION performed at the University of Ghana’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations and it has appeared on local Ghanaian television many times.
LOCAL DIMENSION toured Germany, Switzerland and France in November/December 2002 and played at many venues; including jazz clubs like the Birds Eye in Basel, Moods in Zurich and the Satellite Café and Baiser Salee Club in Paris. In 2003 Local Dimension released a CD of 14 tracks (recorded at Pidgin Studios Accra by Panji Anoff) entitled N’Yong on the French Disques Arion label. In June 2004 the band played for the Music Department of Hannover University, and in January 2006 the band toured Belgium and Holland, playing at the following venues: Zuiderpershuis (Antwerp), Korzo (The Hague), Rasa (Utrecht) and the Tropical Museum (Amsterdam)
Contact Aaron Bebe Sukura b_sukura@yahoo.com Tel 233 24 4 829258 (mobile).
Professor John Collins Bokoor House, P.O. Box 391, Achimota, Accra, GHANA. Tel 233 21 512555 (home) 233 21 3239488 (mobile). E-mail jcollins@ug.edu.gh .
Both also teach at the Music Department, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra.
