King Ayisoba

King Ayisoba (GH)

This is the traditional kologo music from the Upper East Region of Ghana brought with the energy and flavor of the twenty first century. King Ayisoba sings in Frafra, Twi and in English and is a big star in Ghana. There is a whole new scene now starting after King Ayisoba introduced the super catchy kologo beats to the bigger audiences in Ghana and abroad. The kologo is a two string guitar with a calabash gourd resonator, it is rhythmic and melodic at the same time. The King is bringing other musicians and dancers on this tour, dancing the traditional Frafra dia and kologo dances from the area of Bongo in Northern Ghana. The dance consists of very high jumbs and originates from hunting rituals. Aboku Adortanga (dancer and dorgo player) is King Ayisoba’s brother and is a master in playing the “Dorgo”, a special horn from Northern Ghana used in the traditional Frafra tradition of music. The sound resembles a lamb calling out loud and was original used by the Frafra people in the forest to gather the village people to come and hunt. Gemeka is an absolute master in playing the guluku, a local drum from Bolgatanga Soko in Northern Ghana. Since a few years the young Dagaati has been part of King Ayisoba’s band. At first he came to the concerts and kept coming and telling Ayisoba he could play Ayisoba’s songs on his xylophone. This is not normal since Dagaati comes from the Dagaati region which is upper west in Ghana. But the addition of the xylophone to the kologo, drums and voice works fantastic and Dagaati became a core musician of King Ayisoba’s band and it is already hard to imagine how the band sounded without this very talented young man.

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