Max Weissenfeldt, the melophile taking Ghana’s Frafra gospel to the world

A prodigy who set up his label aged just 16, Weissenfeldt was introduced to highlife music through a friend in the 1990s leading him on a quest to Ghana in search of the musicians behind the ‘Sikyi Highlife’ record by Dr K Gyasi and His Noble Kings Band who were based in Kumasi city.

“This was before the internet, so it was hard to get and buy original African recordings with polyrhythmic drumming from the big drum choirs mostly found in West Africa. Polyrhythms are so complex. You can’t understand it if you don’t go there and ask how you do it,” Weissenfeldt tells Music In Africa.

By 2010, Weissenfeldt’s enthusiasm about Ghana had deepened to an extent that he made regular trips there once or twice a year on a mission to learn African polyrhythms firsthand.

On one such trip, he decided to travel further up the country to Bolgatanga, a town in the Upper East Region, to check out the music scene there. When he got off at the central bus station, a reggae-like song with a peculiar, iridescent choir was playing over a scratchy horn loudspeaker. His curiosity was piqued immediately and the next day he set out to find this choir. He asked cassette stores if they had recordings of the ‘reggae choir’ but nobody knew what he was talking about.

A few days later he was back at the bus station and the song happened to be played again. He immediately asked who the singer was and with the help of some locals he was soon sitting with Alogte Oho, the musician he had heard on the loudspeaker, in a small bar. After toasting to their first meeting together, Alogte told Weissenfeldt he doesn't do reggae but gospel – Frafra gospel.

“That meeting had me thinking about embarking on something in Ghana with Alogte,” Weissenfeldt says.

In November 2019, Weissenfeldt packed up his studio in Berlin and shipped everything to Kumasi, the town that first plucked him out of Germany.

That decision to relocate is now bearing fruits. Under his Philophon label, Weissenfeldt has produced two Frafra gospel acts – Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy and Florence Adooni – from Namo'o, a small village near the tranquil town of Bongo in Bolgatanga, taking their music to the world stage.

The two acts are getting rave reviews internationally and are headed for a massive 40-tour concert across Europe this summer.

Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy’s upcoming album, O Yinne, due on 2 June, was predominantly recorded in Kumasi, featuring the distinct Frafra gospel style characterised by powerful vocals, melodic brass interjections, synthesiser accents and groovy rhythms. It’s an Afro-futuristic firework of pentatonic vocal explosions carried by rolling West African rhythms, the album pays tribute to the vibrant music scene of Bolgatanga and showcases the cultural richness and musicality of the Frafra people in northern Ghana.

The instrumental title track, and the quintessentially local Frafra gospel tunes ‘La Ka Ba’a (He’ll Come Soon)’, ‘A Lemine Me (He’ll Surely Come)’, and ‘Doose Mam (Follow Me’), arrive in a 12/8 rhythm that is widespread in Ghana and is characterised by its polyrhythmic playing possibilities.

‘This is Bolga!’ honours the vibrant music scene of Bolgatanga. Bolgatanga and its environs is the birthplace of most of the musicians in Frafra country and thus the cultural epicentre of northern Ghana.

A standout track on the project is ‘Te Bola Be? (Where Are We?)’, where the guitar accompaniment is provided by Akule Pepe, formerly a band member of highlife legend Alex Konadu. Akule Pepe skillfully plays the renowned “Yaa Amponsah” riff, which is widely recognised as the catalyst for highlife music. This iconic riff originated from the Kumasi Trio’s recording in 1929 and has since evolved through countless variations, becoming a significant part of Ghanaian music history. As such, it holds a special place as a cultural heritage of Ghana, and Akule Pepe is a true master of this distinctive riff.

Reggae is also an integral part of the Frafra gospel and as such ‘Yinne Te Yelle Be (God, Where Are We Going)’ and ‘Gure Yose Me (The Devil Is Attacking Me)’ are kept in that vein.

Another special guest worth mentioning here, is the Berlin-based Finnish musician Jimi Tenor, who can be heard playing the saxophone and flute on some pieces. Jimi was in Kumasi to record his own third album for Philophon and Weissenfeldt immediately engaged him to contribute to O Yinne.

As on record and on stage, Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy, are an unstoppable bundle of energy. Past concerts have always triggered a frenetic atmosphere. Renowned broadcaster Gilles Peterson termed the band's performance at his Worldwide Festival as “my absolute favourite moment in 16 years at this festival. They were everything that music is for me in 2022.”

Alogte says: “Just as the Messiah died for us on the cross to take away all sin from us, so I expect the band to transcend this world for our audience to give them all the joy it can. They are the Sounds of Joy.”