“Drop everything and go and see him live!” THE QUIETUS
<< TRADITIONAL GHANAIAN MUSIC DUG UP FROM THE FUTURE >>
Ooof!! King Ayisoba, often called “King of Kologo” and “A living legend” in Ghana, is an absolute powerhouse!! Immense vocal range, high energy dancing and right-on political awareness, this will blow your socks off!!
Born in 1974 into the Frafra hunting tribe, near Bolgatanga northeast Ghana, King Ayisoba has been playing the Kologo (a small guitar with two strings attached to a calabash) since he was very young. He took care of livestock and carried his instrument with him through the bush and villages, where he discovered traditional harmonies, ceremonies and ancestral rites. Since then the Kologo has been like an extended part of his body, not a single day goes by where he is not playing!
When he grew up, he moved to the capital, plunging himself into the Accra cosmopolitan urban jungle, and began to find a musical style somewhere between tradition and modernity. Nowadays the world of King Ayisoba is unique and complex. The rhythms and frenzied dancing mingle with his distinctive voice, alternately smooth and suave, then rocky and tribal. His concerts are unique experiences where musical codes are shattered by his raw energy, his music sitting where the spirit world merges with the painful origins of Kologo music and the concrete realities of urban life.
His performances are full of tribal power – channeling his grandfather’s voices through his incredible range of deep and loud nasal cries as well as soft high singing accompanied by his kologo. Supported by his band of Frafra musicians, with their mesmerizing and infectious beats, high energy dancing and singing, King Ayisoba provides a captivating stage performances with rhythms going straight to the heart and the feet. He has a great ability to interact with his audience, reaching the young and old with his straight forward lines, making them respond to his cries and dance along.
Above all he wishes to inspire people to be more conscious and to act upon injustice, corruption, greed.
Since his breakthrough King Ayisoba has won multiple awards globally, released 7 albums, featured on countless releases and toured around the Globe from US, Canada and Europe to Asia, Australia and Africa. He has worked with everyone from Lee Scratch Perry to African Head Charge, and his latest album was produced by Adrian Sherwood!!