FLORENCE ADOONI Vinyl & CDs

Review: Parsed into its unabbreviated form, title of Florence Adooni's vintage-sounding but brand new highlife record is an endearing reminder that togetherness should not be thought a luxury, but rather a human right and expectation, hence its ordinariness. Rooted in the rich traditions of Ghana's Fra Fra culture and propelled by cosmic production from Philophon Records' visionary Max Weissenfeldt, this release is a bold fusion of hereditary rhythms and fresh productions, proving that the convivialities often associated with traditional West African music need not be lost on the global situation of 2024. The standout here has to be 'Vocalize My Luv', a punchy track, with carnivalesque Afro-dance stylings and a resinous bass breadth charge, as Adooni sings powerfully of the innate human need for expression.

Review: A hugely exciting and thoroughly danceable new 7" from Florence Adooni, blowing any other artist who could even remotely hope to stake a worthy claim to contemporary highlife out of the park. Following up her debut single 'Fo Yelle' on Philophon, the Ghanaian Frafra Soul singer returns backed by an eight-member troupe, made up of young talents from the highlife scene of Kumasi, Ghana. 'Uh Ah Song' and its inverse counterpart 'Otoma Da Naba' are slick, clean and joyous daytime jaunts, with the former track lyrically meditating on familial and childhood themes while effortlessly pinning down a difficult-to-maintain-for-most uptempo highlife backbeat and improv. The B-side, meanwhile, pays tribute to the supreme terrestrial creator central to Adooni's native Frafra community, and centres on a heptatonic electronic, nigh acid riff and lo-fi texture with a "je ne sais qoui" that, in our view, renders it the tune of the year so far.

Review: Seriously good modern high-life action here, as Philophon regular Florence Adooni joins forces with some exceptional musicians to lay down two high-quality musical treats. Our pick of the pair is superb A-side 'Mam Pe'ela Su're', a "typical Frafra-Gospel hymn" that Adooni and her accomplices have turned into a deliciously soulful and groovy slab of highlife (think glistening, Ebo Taylor style guitars, shuffling drums and righteous horns). Turn to the flip for 'Naba Aferda', a homage to the chief of her home village that offers a slightly heavier and more raw-sounding take on the highlife sound that's so jaunty and carnival-friendly that it could pass as an obscure Brazilian recording from the late 1970s.