Osibisa

Formed in London in 1969 around Ghanaian saxophonist and singer Teddy Osei, drummer Sol Amarfio and trumpeter Mac Tontoh, Osibisa initially brought together Ghanaian, Nigerian and Caribbean musicians based between Accra and London. The group developed a hybrid sound crossing highlife, afro-rock, progressive rock, funk, jazz and Caribbean rhythms, with a highly collective approach to songwriting in which brass, percussion and vocal harmonies play a central role. Osibisa emerged at the turn of the 1970s with the albums Osibisa and Woyaya in 1971, followed by Heads in 1972, which cemented this identity that blended West African traditions with British rock formats. Over the next decade the band toured extensively across Europe, Asia, India, Africa and Oceania, while steering their repertoire toward more soul, pop and dance-oriented forms on Welcome Home (1975), Ojah Awake (1976) and Mystic Energy (1979). After several lineup changes, Osibisa launched a new recording phase with Monsore in 1995, then Osee Yee in 2009 and New Dawn in 2021. Remaining active on stage for decades, Osibisa occupies a distinctive place in the history of exchanges between African musics, the London scene and hybridized rock.