IN a new album Kologo, the diverse Accra-based music outfit Alostmen breathe new life into Ghana’s two-stringed lute, creating a sound at a crossroads between rap and Afrobeat.
The story is something out of a fairy tale for music fans. In 2007, Stevo Atambire, a kid from the streets of Accra, was hanging out in his sister’s banana shop. An odd-looking character, barefoot and dressed in a skirt, popped in and recounted how he once recorded a song with King Ayisoba, the master of kologo, a Ghanian two-stringed lute.
Stevo didn’t exactly buy his story at first. He himself played the instrument at weddings, funerals, markets and in the streets. On top of that, he had already released a couple of albums on CD and cassette tape, and was known for his electronic music infused style.
The King
King Ayisoba was one of his biggest influences. And it turned
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