WORLD MUSIC: A STIMULUS TO GHANAIAN TOURISM, EDUCATION AND ‘CROSS-OVER’ MUSICAL COLLABORATIONS
BY PROFESSOR JOHN COLLINS
PAPER READ AT UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, FACULTY OF ARTS COLLOQUIUM ON GLOBALISATION AND THE HUMANITIES
5-6th MAY 2004
ABSTRACT
This paper will briefly look at the reasons for the growth of international interest in African music since the 1980’s – as part of the emergence of the so-called ‘World Music’ phenomenon. It then turns specifically to Ghana to present ways these developments positively impact on the tourist industry, the entertainment sector and in the area of cross-over musical collaborations between local and foreign artists.
Many people talk of the negative impact of globalization on the cultures of Developing Nations: cultural imperialism, cultural homogenization, cultural ‘grey-out’ and so on. However in this paper I want to present how the globalization of African music is opening up opportunities in Ghana : in terms of creating new sources of foreign exchange from international music sales, in boosting the tourist industry, in attracting foreign students and in presenting enormous possibilities for ‘cross-over’ collaborations between western and African artists.
The massive globalization of African music really began in the mid 1980’s when a sector of the international recording trade known as ‘World Music’ emerged as a distinct music marketing category. It began with the growing interest in the African popular dance music, or 'Afro-Pop' styles, of sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1980’s. These included Nigerian Juju-music and Afro-beat, South African Township Jazz, Central African Soukis or Congo Jazz - and of course Ghanaian Highlife
The word ‘World Music’ itself was coined by a group of independent recording companies and music journalists in London in 1987 to broaden the marketing potential of African popular music or ‘Afro-pop’ as it was originally called (coincidentally i was at one of these meeting)
Although today World Music therefore includes other categories of music such as Cuban, Latin-American, Arabic, eastern European and Asian popular music styles, African popular music was the engine that created and still drives the World Music market. Infact, Afro-pop makes up about one quarter of the annual six billion dollars generated in sales and royalties of World Music
This estimate of 1.5 million dollars for the Afro-pop component of annual World Music sales was actually I researched and put together for a meeting of the World Bank in Washington DC I attended in June 2000 to discuss assisting the music industries of six African countries, including Ghana. Since then World Bank monies have already been released in Senegal and a proposal for a 10 million dollar assistance package to the Ghanaian music industry is currently on the table of our Ministry of Finance (See world bank website on the matter in bibliography)
It should be noted that prior to the 1980's Afro-Pop and World Music did not exist as a distinct commercial segment of the international recording market and the sales of African music was limited to a small number of specialists shops and records companies (like Folkways ) that catered for ethnomusicologists, foreigners who had visited Africa, or African students living abroad. In short, in the twenty years from 1980 the revenue from the Afro-Pop component of World Music has shot up from almost zero to1.5 billion dollars per year. At this point I would like to turn to some of the main reasons for the commercial success of Afro-Pop on the international market since the early 1980's
FIRST: WORLD MUSIC IS A LOGICAL EXTENSION OF THE GLOBAL EMERGENCE OF THE BLACK DANCE-MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS AND CARIBBEAN that began in the late 19th century : from jazz, blues and the samba right up to today’s reggae, rap and salsa. Put the other way round, the gradual internationalization of the black popular music of the Americas ultimately paved the way for the popular music of Africa itself going global.
SECONDLY; AFRO-POP IS INTRINSICALLY INTERNATIONAL Unlike traditional ethnic African music that is usually located in a specific local culture, contemporary African popular music is a fusion of African, Western, Black American and in some cases Arabic and even Indian influences. It is therefore intrinsically an international idiom suitable for an international audience..
THIRDLY: THERE HAS BEEN A GROWING INTEREST IN AFRICAN MUSIC BY JAZZ AND ROCK STARS. From the 1960’s modern jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Max Roach, Sun Ra and Randy Weston became interested in African music. The residency in the United States of Ghana’s Kofi Ghanaba (then known as Guy Warren) and Nigeria’s Babatunde Olutunji played an important role in this development.
From the seventies British and American rock stars also began visiting Africa: the drummer Ginger Baker, Paul McCartney of the Beatles, Sting and Stuart Coplan of the American band Police, Mick Fleetwood and rock composer Brian Eno (who incidentally stayed with me at my Bokoor house in 1980)
Then there was Paul Simon who released his African influenced 1986 smash-hit Gracelands album in 1986 that sold 14 million copies . Then just a few months ago two musicians of the (Jamie Cato and Duncan Bridgeman) English pop band ‘One Giant Leap’ visited Ghana and I arranged an interaction between them and some of our students at the Music Department.
FOURTHLY: THE CURRENT GLOBAL INTEREST IN AFRO-POP HAS ARISEN THROUGH JAMAICAN REGGAE ACTING AS A STEPPING-STONE BACK TO AFRICA. The Rastafarian and back-to-African theme in Jamaican reggae since the seventies encouraged many West Indian and white reggae bands to look towards African music for inspiration. Some artists actually visited African: Jimmy Cliff, Greg Isaacs, Misty and Roots, the American band Police and of course Bob Marley. When Bob Marley died in 1981 his record company, Island Records, decided to look for their next super-star in Africa rather than the Caribbean. In 1983 this independent reggae label chose Nigeria’s top juju-music star, Sonny Ade, whose successful international tours and releases were an important t trigger for the current interest in World Music by foreign music fans and independent record companies: such as Sterns, Earthworks, Peter Gabriel’s Real World and Globestyle of the UK and Syllart and Celluloid of Franc.
After the emergence of these British and French independent African and World Music record labels, the big record companies such as HMV, EMI and Virgin Records also began to move into African music. Another was Warner Brothers who released Paul Simon’s 1986 Gracelands album. Subsequently the big distributors began to setup World Music sections in their mega music stores - and as they say the rest is history.
From what has been discussed it is obvious that the rise of World Music over the last twenty years is creating new opportunities for Ghana - and besides tapping into the lucrative annual 1.5 billion dollar international trade in African music I will focus here on three other areas of positive development Firstly in the area of tourism, secondly education and thirdly in the areas of cross-cultural musical collaborations
FIRSTLY –THE IMPACT OF WORLD MUSIC ON GHANAIAN TOURISM
Twenty years ago tourism in Ghana was literally at a standstill largely due to political instability, the problems of artificial exchange rates and resulting black market, and shortages of even basic commodities But particularly after the IMF initiated Structural Adjustment Policy of the late 1980’s tourism dramatically increased in Ghana - so that between 1992 and 2002 the number of tourists entering the country each year doubled . In 2000 foreign tourism generated 350 million dollars for Ghana – and in 2004 $800 million - making tourism the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country after gold and timber. (Between 2000 and 2002 accommodation facilities increased from 355 to 438, restaurants from 253 to 329 and tourist and tour organizations from 177 to 203)
Last year 550,0000 tourists visited Ghana - this year it is expected to bee to 650,000 - and in a speech made in October 2003, the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, said that by 2007 tourism is expected to attract one million visitors a year to Ghana, generate $1.5 billion in foreign exchange and create 300,000 local jobs: making tourism the largest employer in formal sector after agriculture, trade and industry.
Of course there are many types of tourist. There are eco-tourists interested in wildlife sanctuaries, cultural tourists interested in local custom, adventure tourists going on safari and African-American tourists tracing their African roots .
It has been estimated that ten percent of the foreign exchange that international tourists actually spend is on recreation and entertainment – and this brings us to the topic of a new and growing sector for Ghanaian tourism. This is the impact of what might be called 'World Music tourists' who come to Ghana for its popular night-club music , its traditional folkloric groups that perform at local festivals and ceremonies and onstage at hotels and beach resorts. Some of these World Music tourists, as I will mention in a moment, also come to academically study local music and dance .
World Music fans enjoy live performances of bands with a strong indigenous African flavour, and so any increase in the number of live bands and night-clubs that cater for them will obviously attract more of these World Music tourists to the country. and thus boost the tourist trade in general. A very positive development in connection with this is the move this February (2004) by the Ghanaian government to drastically lower the import duties on musical band instruments and equipment – thus making it cheaper for musicians and night clubs owners to acquire them
THE SECOND POSITIVE IMPACT OF WORLD MUSIC IS ON EDUCATION
Many of the World Music tourists coming to Ghana not only want to watch and listen to Ghanaian music – but also want to learn to play and dance to it. Some come to do this at Ghana’s universities: like the hundreds of foreign students, musicians and dancers who come now each year to the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana at Legon. Others come to the dozens private drumming culture centres, music archives and traditional-music schools that have proliferated since the late 1980’s :such as the African Academy of Music and Arts at Kokrobite, the Dagbe Drum School in the Volta Region, Koo Nimo’s music school in Kumasi and the Gramophone Museum in Cape Coast to name a few
(Others include the Kakum Bamboo Orchestra , the Kasapa and, Aklowa beach resort schools , Satchmo Korle’s Music School, Kojo Folson’s Music School, the AGORO informal education through music NGO at Cape Coast, Professor Nketia’s International Centre for African Music and Dance at Legon, the BAPMAF Popular Music Archives at Ofankor, Ghanaba’s African Heritage Library at Medie and Kwese Asare’s African Cultural Centre at Larteh. Someof the Cultural groups that also double up as teaching outfits include Odehe, Suade, Djembe and Kusum Gboo.)
Conversely, the interest in Africa and World Music has led to many Ghanaian musicians travelling or staying abroad to teach African drumming and dancing in foreign colleges and schools. Some examples of such musicians in the US and Europe include Obo Addy, Kobla and C.K. Ladzekpo, Kwarshi Amuvor, the late C.K.Ganyoh and Godwin Agbeli, Gideon Foli, Kwasi Baidoo, George Dzikunu, Lord Eric and Ben Baddo.
THIRDLY : WORLD MUSIC IS ENHANCING VISITS BY FOREIGN MUSICIANS AND COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN THEM AND GHANAIAN ARTISTS
Let us first turn to the visits and collaborations by western musicians and bands coming to Ghana. An early example that took place even before the emergence of World Music was the Soul to Soul concert in Accra in1971 that featured Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Santana and the brilliant Afro-jazz fusion of f Les Harris and McCann with the Fra-Fra musician Amoah Azangeo. Incidentally the film of this event is about to be re-released on DVD in the US - and a documentary on the event called 'the Story of Soul to Soul' was broadcast on BBC Channel Four in January this year.
However due to the economic collapse and political upheavals of Ghana during the 1970's and early 1980s very few further musical collaborations occurred. Two exceptions occurred in 1980 when two English rock musicians came to Ghana: the drummer Mick Fleetwood who released a film called The Visitor, and Brian Eno who worked with the local Edikanfo Band.
But generally speaking during the 1980's things remained difficult for foreign visitors and artists coming to Ghana – although there were some notable collaborations between Ghanaian and western music stars working outside of
For instance in 1988 Nana Danso’s Pan African Orchestras worked in the UK with the rock musician Peter Gabriel and released the World Music record hit record 'Opus One'. And in 1989 the bass player Kofi Electric (and Cameroonian guitarist Vincent Nguni) worked in the US with Paul Simon on his record album Rhythms of the Saints
By the early 1990's the effects of the liberalisation of the economy led to an increasing number of foreign visitors coming to Ghana - including musicians, who played in Ghana and/or collaborated with Ghanaian artists. In 1991 the first of a series of PANAFEST or Pan African Festivals was initiated by the government that over the years brought in many thousands of particularly African-American tourists - and musicians such as Steve Wonder, Public Enemy, Dionne Warwick and Isaac Hayes.
During the 1990's many jazz musicians also came to Ghana including Randy Weston, Max Roach and Robin Schulkowsky: the two latter working with the Ghanaian master drummer Kofi Ghanaba/Guy Warren. (Others were the African-American jazz musicians George Cables, Nathan Davis, Idris Muhammad, Milton Mustapha, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, James Branch ‘Plunky’ and , South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela)
Others musicians that came to Ghana from the Caribbean and United States and Britain include Greg Isaacs, Kassav, Musical Youth, Misty and Roots, Culture, Soul 2 Soul, Jermain Jackson, Shaggy , One Giant Leap and this very weekend the Black British jazz player Courtney Pine. Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley actually settled in Ghana and has built a recording-studio in the Aburi Hills near Accra
Besides foreign bands and artists coming to Ghana since the 1990's, a number of Ghanaian artists and bands have toured North America, Europe, Japan and Australia . Some examples include Mac Tonto's Kete Warrriors, Kofi Ghanaba, the Pan African Orchestra, , Kwabena Nyama, Koo Nimo Rocky Dawuni, the Western Diamond, George Darko and Kakraba Lobi. Others include City Boys, Amkeyke Dede, Kojo Antwi, Blay Ambulley, Local Dimension, Pat Thomas, Papa Yankson, Jewel Ackah, Daddy Lumba, C.K. Mann, A.B Crentsil, African Brothers and Kente.
Some of these have actually settled abroad as African and World Music bandsmen, solo artists, recording-session musicians or members of cross-over bands. The list is long but a sampling of these include Okyerema Asante, Afro Moses, Sloopy Mike Gyamfi, Little Noah, Obo Addy, Nana Tsiboe, Kofi Ayivor, Eddie Quansah, B.B. Brew, Rex Gyamfi, Atongo Zimba and Alfred Bannerman,
SOME OTHERS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING : US: Yacub Addy (Odadaa Band), Amartey Hedzolleh, (with Paul Simon and MickFleetwood), Jerry Hansen, CANADA: Pat Thomas, Alfred Schall (Wanaa Wazuri Band) , Nana Yaw Boakye (Nakupenda) , Bishop Okele (Officials). DENMARK: (O’Jah ), Henry Soloman (Zebra). UK:, Ray Allen, George Lee (now in South Africa), Jon Kay, Mike Osapanyin (Kabala) , Kwabena Oduro Kwarteng (Highlife Intrernationals), Kofi Edu, Ben Brako, Sol Amarfi and Teddy Osei (Osibisa). HOLLAND:, (Sankofa), Charles Tetteh. AUSTRALIA (Kotoka Mma) , Aweke Glyman , Kojo Ashakan. FRANCE:, late Stanley Todd. GERMANY : Bob Fiscion, Allan Cosmos Adu, Charles Amoah , McGod, Lee Duodu, Bob Pinodo.
The list is quite long as some of these Ghanaian artists settled abroad during the late 70's and 80's when things were difficult in Ghana. Indeed when I was on the Executive of the Ghana musicians Union (MUSIGA) in 1979 we estimated that one quarter of our members were out of the country at the time. Though this was Ghana's loss, these artists abroad have made an input into the emerging international World Music explosion of the last 20 years. Furthermore many of these musicians have since returned to Ghana setting up bands and recording studios in Ghana and bringing in new styles of music with them: such as disco influenced Burgher highlife and rap influenced Hiplife (i.e. hip-hop highlife)
Although Ghanaian music does not have as high a profile on the World Music market as say the music of Mali, Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa, it is still considerable. And since the success of the Pan African Orchestra’s 'Opus One' release in 1988 a considerable amount of old-time and new Ghanaian material has found its way onto the World Music shelves in America, Europe and Japan. I will name just a few of these artists as I have provided more details in the written text of my presentation . They include the old music of E.T. Mensah, King Bruce, Kofi Ghanaba, Onyina, Kwabena Nyama and the 1928 recordings of the Kumasi Trio – and newer materials from Nat Brew, Rex Omar, Eric Egyeman, T.O. Jazz, George Darko, Blay Ambulley, the Sweet Talks, F. Kenya, Alhaji Frempong, Nana Ampadu and Alex Konadu
DETAILS ON SOME GHANAIAN WORLD MUSIC RELEASES E.T. Mensah: Day by Day & All For You ( Sterns UK). King Bruce and the Black Beats & Guy Warren Ghanaba ( RetroAfric, UK). Rough Guide to Highlife (Rough Guide Music, UK). Afro-Rock (Kona Records UK). George Aingo: The Roots of Highlife & The Kumasi Trio 1928 (Heritage UK). Music in Ghana (Pamap Germany). Mustapha Tettey Addy: Secret Rhythjm & Come And Drum (WeltWunder, Germany). Pan African Orchestra : Opus One (WOMAD/Realworld, UK). Ghana Soundz (Soundway UK).Koo Nimo: Osabarima & The Real Palmwine Music.& The Guitar and Gun (Stern's/Earthworks, UK). Highlife All Stars (Network Germany). Akom:Art of Spirit Possession (Village Park). Vintage Palmwine & Kofi Ayivor: Rhythmology (Otrabanda Records, Holland).Electric Highlife (Naxos, USA/Hong Kong). Kwabena Nyama: Ghana Palm Wine Music ( Buda Music, Paris). Popular Music Ghana 1931-57 (Disques Arion Paris) . Okyerema Asante and the Uhuru Band: Crabs In A Bucket (Asante/Oyigbo label,USA) Rocky Dawuni: Crusade & Awakening (Aquarian Records, Ghana/USA). LocaL Dimension: N’Yong ( Disques Arion, Paris). Mac Tonto: Kete Warriors (UK). Afro Moses: Makoloa & O’Jah (Riddimtrax Records /GMF Label Denmark). Sloopy Mike Gyamfi: Telephone Nkomo & Asem Kakra (Holland). Nat Brew:Wogbe (Amanazeba Productions). The Shrine: Afrobeat (Ocho UK).The Highlife All Stars (Network Germany). Eric Egyeman:Ghana Gold: (Music and Words, Holland). Smilin Osei: Alarm Blo (Dakar Sounds Holland). Nana Tsiboe and the Supa Hilife Band: Ahom & Asem Ni (Tuntumi,UK). Amartey Hedzolleh ( Millenium Anthem Productions, USA). Obo Addy: Afieye Okropong & Wonche Bi (Akula Recordsds, USA). One Giant Leap (a Ghanaian/African/UK collaboration, Palm Pictures, UK).
IN CONCLUSION It can be seen that the globalisation of African Music has proven beneficial to Ghana in the three specific areas discussed. Firstly it has enhanced the Ghanaian cultural tourist industry. Secondly, it is bringing numbers of foreign performance students to the country who stimulate and financially help local educational institutions. Thirdly the global rise of African music has dramatically increased the density of musical exchanges and collaborations going on between Ghanaian and foreign artists – which in the light of the enormous revenues generated by World Music sales has very positive implications for Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings
RELEVANT JOHN COLLINS BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Running a Band, a Music Studio and Music Archives in Ghana. In Proceedings of the AVA-90 Conference, Fayum, Sweden, (eds.) Tellef Kvifte and Gunnar Ternhag, published by the Dalarna Research Council of Sweden/University of Oslo, 1990, pp. 9-19.
2. Interview with John Collins on the Cultural Policy, Folklore and Recording Industry of Ghana, by Cynthia Schmidt. In The Guitar in Africa: The 1950’s - 90’s (ed. Cynthia Schmidt) In The World of Music published by the International Institute for Traditional Music, volume 36, number 2, 1994, pp. 138-147, Germany.
3. Hi-technology, Individual Copyright and Ghanaian Music, in the book Ghana: Changing Values/Changing Technologies, (ed) Helen Lauer, published by the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, U.S.A, 2000.
4. World Bank Paper on the African Music Industry. For the June 20th 2000 Workshop of the World Bank on Developing the Music Industry in Africa.. Available from the Policy Science Center, 127 Wall St. Room 314, BOX 208215, New Haven, CT. 06529-8215. Web site: www.worldbank.org/research/trade/africa_music2.htm
5. Three articles on the Ghanaian Music Industry (A Quarter Century of Problems: The Way Forwards: The Gospel Boom) In West Africa Magazine , London, 19-25th August 2002 (issue 4339), pp. 8-13.
6. Eight entries (on the Ghanaian and Liberian popular music and recording industry) for the Continuum Encyclopaedia of Popular Music of the World Vols. I and II (eds. John Shepherd, David Horn, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver and Peter Wicke) published by Cassell, London, March and May 2003..
