MEH MOGYA (SAMPLE OF ME)
Audio Composition (Vinyl and Digital Download), 2011
"This is special…itches identity, family and culture via a raw, Madlibbed, fucked-up re-jigging of classic, scratchy Ghanaian highlife, lit up by sampled fighting talk from the great Kwame Nkrumah..."
Meh Mogya or 'My Blood' (when translated from Twi, a Ghanaian language, to English) is a concept 'beat tape' like no other; it’s rich palette traces the sounds of Ghanaian heritage via Highlife music created during the genre’s Golden Era (the 1960s and the 1980s).
The Highlife sound peaked in popularity between the 50s and 60s and later in its association with musical legends such as Alhaji K. Frimpong, African Brothers International, Ebo Taylor as well as Fela Ransome Kuti who pioneered the Afrobeat sound by merging Highlife and Jazz.
This exciting, funky, fresh project represents Achiampong's interest in navigating, sampling and re-presenting the musical legacy that connects to his family's African origins.
The historical, cultural, and political sentiments that surrounded Ghana are brought to life and made relevant today via remixed vocals taken from a speech made by former the first Prime Minister of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah.
In 1957 Nkrumah oversaw Ghana’s independence from British Colonial rule, shortly after he made a legendary speech to not only Ghanaians, but Africans across the globe in the spirit of freedom.
The amalgamation of history and contemporary flavour creates a new, fresh, dynamic sound that is both raw and catchy.
The project was championed by Gilles Peterson via BBC Radio 1, and respected producer and DJ, Mr Scruff.
The below image shows the LP of the EP version of MEH MOGYA, which includes a collaborative project with students from Edgware Road in London. This was produced as a limited run of 200 which included a silkscreened cover, whilst this is no longer available the project can be streamed or downloaded for free or name your price HERE.
