EPISODE · Sep 21, 2020 · 39 MIN
013 Syncretism and Highlife Music of Ghana
from Sound Philosophy · host Chadwick Jenkins
This episode discusses syncretism (amalgamation of different religions, philosophies, cultures, or schools of thought) as it applies to music in the colonial situation of Ghana at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Syncretism is not simple amalgamation, however. It can involve accommodation but it can also be a subtle form of rebellion. Using this concept as a platform, I turn to various forms of Ghanian popular music that fed into highlife and then the early years of highlife itself. I take a close look at the song "Yaa Amponsah," first recorded by the Kumasi Trio (featuring Kwame Asare, also known as Jacob Sam, on guitar) in 1928.
What this episode covers
This episode discusses syncretism (amalgamation of different religions, philosophies, cultures, or schools of thought) as it applies to music in the colonial situation of Ghana at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Syncretism is not simple amalgamation, however. It can involve accommodation but it can also be a subtle form of rebellion. Using this concept as a platform, I turn to various forms of Ghanian popular music that fed into highlife and then the early years of highlife itself. I take a close look at the song "Yaa Amponsah," first recorded by the Kumasi Trio (featuring Kwame Asare, also known as Jacob Sam, on guitar) in 1928.
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013 Syncretism and Highlife Music of Ghana
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