Atongo Zimba

Atongo Zimba is a master musician, singer and a griot from the north of Ghana. He was very young
when his grandfather taught him to play and build the kologo, a two stringed lute which has its
variations throughout the savannahs and deserts of West Africa. His time as a child was divided
between the family farm and the regional capital of Bolgatanga.

During holidays and weekends Atongo would run the cows through farmland and forests with the
other boys, looking for feed and water for the cows. There was a strong musical tradition amongst
the cowboys and they would play instruments such as flutes and percussion, as well as using their
voices to make different sounds, many of which mimicked birds and animals.

Atongo learnt traditional songs and started to compose his own where he would use the kologo for
more complex melodies than the usual strumming. The instrument is used for many traditional
events and to motivate farm workers, but Atongo was more interested in using the kologo for art and
entertainment. He decided to travel in order to explore the possibilities of music making as a career
and found his way to the compound of Fela Kuti in Lagos where Atongo stayed for two years in his
late adolescence, opening weekend shows at the Afrika Shrine with his solo performances.
On returning to Ghana, this time to Accra, he joined a very active and creative music scene in the
80's and 90's playing with Osibisa and the Pan African Orchestra amongst others. At the same time
he continued to develop his own solo style, picking up ideas from highlife, jazz and funk. Atongo
released four albums in Ghana during this time, following which he made several visits to Europe and recorded with Swiss drummer Gabriel Schiltnec in Switzerland.His first international release was called Allah Mongode and they performed with the cultural group Adisa.

Settling in the UK by 2003, Atongo’s next project was Savannah Breeze (Hippo Records, 2005 ) with
a band he put together of Dutch based Ghanaian and Caribbean musicians for the Afro-Funk sound.
It was produced by Dave Youeli who was also responsible for the production of kologo legend
Captain Yaba. Keeping strong links to his own country throughout this time abroad, his recording of
"No Beer in Heaven" was a major hit in Ghana in 2004. Atongo’s third collaboration was a jazz
influenced Barefoot In The Sand (Hippo Records, 2007) which went on to be awarded “African CD of
the Year” in Holland. This lead to tours across Europe, South America and Africa, including a benefit
for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, at the Alliance Française in Accra.
A decade of touring the world with his music and then the pandemic hit, leading Atongo to come full
circle and head back to Ghana. In this time, he formed a band...