African Gãdangmé Music

A prelude to a collection of African Gãdangmé Music inspired by ancient African wisdom. Jàkú Mũmɔ – (pronounced Jaku Mumor) means Ancestral Spirit in the Gãdangmé language of South-eastern Ghana.

Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and arranger Okaidja Afroso ushers in a fresh breeze of musical flavors from the shores of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea, drawing from the ecological knowledge of the indigenous Gãdangmé Fishermen, the power of the nature-based rituals, and the connections that his ancestors had to the element, particularly the ocean.

In Jaku Mumor, Okaidja’s distinctive musical style extends ancestral traditions and creates a contemporary African oral tradition, combining percussion, guitar, dance, and native language vocals. His artistry is grounded in traditional dance & rhythm with modern harmonies & updated lyrics. Jaku Mumor dives deeper into Okaidja’s cultural roots by collaborating directly with the Fishermen to share the full artistry of their acapella singing and chants that awaken the spirit of the human soul.

On this album Okaidja collaborates with some of the best young talents Ghana has to offer, such as bassist Affreh Jr., Palm Wine guitarist George Spratz, master percussionist Israel Annoh, vocalist/dancer Jenny Flow, and trombonist Elikplim Amewode Kofi. They drew inspiration from Afro-Jazz, Afro-classical, Palm Wine, and ambient music – to produce a stunning record. This judicious fusion of Ghanaian music with diverse cross-cultural influences features Okaidja’s hypnotic arrangements, all sung in his native Gadangme language. — World Disk Radio