The Story of Obaa Sima

In 2002, an American ethnomusicology student named Brian Shimkovitz found a mysterious 1994 cassette entitled 'Obaa Sima'. The tape was made by a Ghana musician named Ata Kak. 

Shimokovitz spent three years in Ghana exploring its most colorful and exciting musicians, this research then led to a music blog that he created in 2005, called 'The Hiplife Complex'. The blog explored the genre hiplife which is a combination of hip hop and highlife.  Shimokovitz plunges the reader into the world of the scene through interviews with certain leaders of the genre, such as J – Que. We also get an insight into the roots of the genre whilst Shimokovitz honestly shows the negative press it got as it was shunned by the media due to elements such as its profanity which was supposedly negative for the youth.

          (Credit: The Drone)


His second blog, which was started in 2006, was named 'Awesome Tapes From Africa'. This blog was made in order to share his huge collection of African cassettes that he had acquired from his travels. “This is music you won’t easily find anywhere else” Shimokovitz claims and it is true; 'Awesome Tapes From Africa' supplies a mass range of dazzling and bizarre music shared by a man who holds a vivid passion for this daring music.

From this blog Yaw Atta-Owusu's(Ata Kak) work 'Obaa Sima' was introduced, the original awesome tape. The first song shared was 'Momo Yendodo', a frantic piece of musical brilliance. Ata Kak raps ferociously over ethereal synthesisers whilst an elegant female voice floats in the background. The song hypnotizes the listener with its interesting combination of 80s disco and Grand Master Flash’s hip hop structures, yet he makes it immediately unique with his scat style “Scoobidoobidoobis”. The other six songs join this track with their outlandish sound, which is a favourable perk to the listening experience. Each song turns a corner to come across more eccentric sonic ideas of Ata Kak; hip hop is crossed with house, and these genres are practiced with African sounds surging through the veins of the tracks. This is especially heard through the use of his Southern African language – Twi. 'KwiDaa Nyinaa' would most likely be the single on the album, but the album doesn’t really hold a solid hit, throughout the seven songs the same fluctuation of joy is released with every song, he never lacks energy.

              (Credit: Album Artwork)

In 2011, 'Awesome Tapes From Africa' was turned into a legit record company and Shimokovitz has also played DJ sets under the name too. This creation was a chance for him to work with his favorite musicians, yet Ata Kak remained hidden. Shimokovitz searched Canada, Ghana and America in search of the man and eventually found him. The album then got reissued in 2015 on the label, the quest was completed and the mysterious enigma of the Ghanaian rapper was broken, he could finally spread his music to other cultures and make a deserved profit for his music.

Ata Kak Captivates the listener, the songs may not be spread throughout the modern soundscape, yet so many elements of his music can be relevant and meaningful to modern music. He has been found in certain DJ sets, for example Four Tet has played him before, a joyous example of record digging and bringing obscure sounds into the light of popular listening. 

On the topic of popular listening, and 25 years after his only record was made, Yaw Atta-Owusu is currently on his first ever tour. After his music practically started Awesome Tapes, it is now being spread in the form of live music as he gallantly strides across Europe. He has played at Field Day Festival in London and Sonar Festival in Spain. This man has gone from not being known by anyone to becoming a cult hero, and Shimokovitz’s efforts to release the album and find him need recognition, it is a truly heartwarming tale that shows the magnitude and power of music.

Tour Dates:

https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/atakak/dates

Listen Here: 

https://open.spotify.com/album/5rWdCCXgUf8Ptz1goEmLKC

Best New Song: Beck - Wow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZlbahhoEIo

Beck Hansen doesn’t like to settle in comfortable territories with his music. The artist has changed his style endlessly, a rarely successful habit. Beck is a man of his times, from starting off writing grungey, hip hop influenced albums such as Mellowgold (1994) and Odelay (1996), to crafting utterly emotionally exposed masterpieces like Sea Change (2002), the range is endless. Now, after releasing teasers on Instagram, he releases a contemporary single called ‘Wow’. The song represents a change of style in the same fashion as the funky single ‘Dreams’, released in 2015.

‘Wow’ shows an almost satirical version of modern chart music, yet it also shows intelligence and depth within it. Glimmering synths dreamily coincide with the trap snares that prove Beck is taking snippets from contemporary sounds. Beck has ventured back to his early hip hop influences, this will be liked by many fans as it was where he started, meaning nostalgia runs through the veins of this track. Lyrically, he is as spontaneous and refreshing as on his early singles, such as Beercan (1994), and his vocals casually switch from expressive bars to harmonious falsettos.  For some fans the newer aspects of this song may be hard to adapt to; but that’s the beauty of this artist, he has no fear of a new path with his sound. 'Wow' shows a step forward that Beck has taken alongside the modern world, but he hasn't let go of his former self. 

  (Credit: Single Artwork)

Best New Song: Gold Panda - Chiba Nights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ9VCM4RUac

Gold Panda is back with new material, it is a gift to us from his artistic journey to Japan with fellow photographer Laura Lewis. His album is entitled, Good Luck And Do Your Best, a heartwarming quote by a Japanese taxi driver that he met. Maybe this was the inspiration for the oriental exuberance of his new album, or maybe it was just a memorable act of synergy with a stranger.

The third track on the record is entitled Chiba Nights and it adds a shimmering atmosphere to the roots of the album. The song feels almost nostalgic for the listener; we are planted in a memory of his travels, a sort of souvenir of sound. The Japanese strings combine with the on going house chords to create a juxtaposition of cultures which both share the same radiant hopefulness. To benefit the listening experience, a video for the track has just been released. The video is shown through sixteen squares giving us a glowing exhibition of his travels. The video and the song combined create a sensory gift for his fans. Chiba Nights shows the artist is currently creating a different sound to many electronic acts out there, the song blends together with the rest of the album immaculately, as a particular musical identity has been crafted at full length.

   (Credit: Album Artwork)