Vis-a-vis – “Obi Agye Me Dofo” – [Continental Records]

ArtCrimes   1/24/2012   12-inch, International

Reissue vinyl of 1977 Ghana release. Vis-a-Vis (Dance Band) occupies a space between highlife and Afrobeat, and the two sides reflect that schism, with two long Afrobeat-oriented tracks??on Side One??(nowhere near as tough as Fela’s work, this is more dancing music than social comment), and shorter highlife variants on Side Two. It being the ’70s, there’s a lot of vintage synth squeals throughout, and a competent rhythm section plus horns anchor things. There are vocals on all tracks, although on Side One, you need to get through instrumental intros of several minutes before you hear them. This is pretty lightweight stuff, especially Side Two, but they were youngsters and probably just absorbing the sounds they dug at the time. The liner notes are charmingly inept and copy editors will have to fight the urge to mark them up. ( crimes )