Ye Ankasa | We Ourselves

Jembaa Groove’s 2022 debut album was a highlife highlight (a Top of the World in #177). The Berlin-based group elegantly develop their formula on Ye Ankasa by dialling up their jazzier influences. The recording retains the hallmarks of highlife. High-pitched organ chops propel ‘Asem Ben’, and the guitar patterns on ‘Dabia’ and ‘Sweet My Ear (feat K.O.G)’ possess a telegram-like rhythmic tick that offsets the groove.

A little of the grit of highlife in its heyday is sifted out through the group’s soulful horn lines and gentle vocal harmonies. Some more spikiness might have aided the laid-back groove of ‘Makoma’ in its pairing with the fiery anti-colonial sentiments of Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah.

The band’s intention is not to imitate however but to evolve. Ye Ankasa tacks much closer to jazz than its predecessor. ‘Namo’ approaches Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis and ‘Outro’ faintly recalls David Bowie’s latter day jazz experimentations with saxophonist Donny McCaslin. ‘Ewiase’ holds the group’s influences in a compelling balance with meditative keys underpinning earworm synth and intricate guitar. An original and accomplished fusion.