Soundtrack #2

When the rhythms of Highlife cross the Atlantic

Born on the coast of Ghana, Highlife has crossed the century to the rhythm of brass bands, electric guitars and popular dances. With the Roots to Rhythm collective, this new edition of Bande sonore revives the sounds of a genre that has become transatlantic, from its origins in Accra to its European revival, Burger Highlife.

For this second edition of the Soundtrack cycle, MansA invites the Roots to Rhythm collective to a musical exploration of Highlife, the genre born in Ghana at the beginning of the XXᵉ century.

Initially the music of the urban elite, played in the salons and clubs of colonial Ghana, Highlife transformed itself over time, crossing borders and social classes. As it spread to Nigeria, it became a mosaic of regional styles - from Lagos to Yorubaland - reflecting multiple identities.

At the end of the 1970s, the diaspora seized on it: in Europe, Burger Highlife was born, a joyful fusion of Ghanaian rhythms, funk, disco and synthesizers. It is this trajectory, both musical and migratory, that the Roots to Rhythm collective proposes to retrace at MansA.

Founded by Grace Shelley and Dare Balogun, Roots to Rhythm is a research and performance project dedicated to African music and its contemporary circulation. Through workshops, conferences and DJ sets, the collective explores how the sounds of the continent nourish today's electronic and diasporic dance scenes.

Bande Sonore is a program run by MansA - Maison des Mondes Africains that offers listening and reflection cycles on Afro-diasporic music. The aim is to put the spotlight on artists, genres and stories that are often little-known, to encourage transmission, discovery and cultural appreciation.