Frafra groove in Alogte Oho & His Sounds Of Joy’s ‘Mam Da’ana’
Single n.8 from German label Golden Rules’ upcoming compilation The Originals 3 comes from up & coming artist Alogte Oho & His Sounds Of Joy, the new star on the African scene who already has WOMEX, Roskilde, We Out Here and many other great festivals under his belt. “Mam Da’ana” is a groove-driven Frafra tune accompanied by a fantastic horn section, wildly bleeping synthesizers and Alogte’s life-affirming choir, The Sounds of Joy.
Alogte Oho’s career started at a relatively slow pace. Neither his first locally released cassette, put out in 2007 when he had just turned 21, or his 2010 follow-up album, yielded the successes he yearned for. In fact he was close to giving up when his life took an unexpected, dramatic turn.
One day while Oho was riding his motorbike through the chaotic traffic of Ghana’s capital Accra, he was suddenly hit by a car and suffered serious injuries, almost losing his life. The accident left him confined to hospital for about two months. While he was lying in his bed he became aware of a divine protection that had kept him alive. His first clear thought was ‘Mam Yinne Wa’ (God, You Love Me So). He suddenly started to hum a melody and the song “Mam Yinne Wa” was born.
The first thing he did once he had fully recovered with a new motivation to continue with music, was to run to the studio to record his new song. It instantly became a big hit among his people, the Frafra, and suddenly Alogte was the top Frafra-Gospel artist. Mam Yinne Wa is also the title of Alogte & His Sounds Of Joy’s first internationally released album on Philophon Records.
Over the course of nine tracks, Oho takes the listener on a journey to the very unique world of Frafra-Gospel. Lilting from low-slung reggae-based numbers to more upbeat songs, played in traditional local rhythms. Throughout the album Oho & his Sounds of Joy deliver the Lord’s gospel in soothing Frafra tones.
“Mam Da’ana” out via digital download on July 21st 2023 via Golden Rules
