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PREKESE GHANAMEDIA MUSIC TIMES
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BIOGRAPHY 101-ALEX KWABENA KONADU, A CLASSIC HIGHLIFE LEGEND
Alex Konadu was a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, social advocate and community leader who was known for his contribution to the Highlife tradition and music industry in Ghana.
Kwabena Konadu who was born in 1948 in an Ashanti village called Adwumakaase-Kesse in the Kwabre No.3 district, sang in the Asante language Twi. He was part of the Kantamanto Bosco Group, the Kwabena Akwaboah and then the Happy Brothers Band before he became a solo artist. After watching him rehearse, record producer A. K. Brobbey signed him and organized a band that focused on uptempo Highlife guitar music. He was so popular that he was nicknamed "One Man Thousand" for his ability to draw crowds during his performance tours. It is rumored that he performed in every single town and village in Ghana. Konadu died in Kumasi on 18 January 2011 at the age of 63.
Konadu's song "Asaase Asa," from the 1976 album by the same name, details a tragedy that befalls a man, killing his wife and sister. The song is dedicated to all those that have lost loved ones, and consequently, it is a "must-play at any Ghanaian funerary".
Discography[edit]
Albums
1977
Abokyi
Released: 1977
Label: BHM (Brobisco House of Music)
1977
Awoo Ne Awo
Released: 1977
Label: BHM (Brobisco House of Music)
1980
Nkrabea
Released: 1980
Label: BHM (Brobisco House of Music)
1988
One Man Thousand Live in London
Released: 1988
Label: World Circuit
1998
The Greatest Classics
Released: 1998
Label: Sam Records
1999
The Best Of Alex Konadu (One Man Thousand) Vol. 1
Released: 1999
Label: System 77 Productions
Unknown
God's Time is the Best
Label: BHM (Brobisco House of Music)
Unknown
The Best of Alex Konadu Vol. 2
Label: System 77 Productions
Alex Konadu was a contributing artist on the Rough Guide to Highlife:
The Rough Guide to Highlife is a world music compilation album originally released in 2003. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the release covers the Highlife musical genre of Ghana and surrounding countries, focusing on the 1960s and 70s.[1] Graeme Ewens wrote the liner notes, and Phil Stanton, co-founder of the World Music Network, was the producer.[2] This album was followed by a second edition in 2012.
Critical reception:
The compilation's release was met with positive reviews. Robert Christgau called it less even than the contemporaneous The Highlife All-Stars album Sankofa but "eccentric" nonetheless.[1] He went on to name it the twelfth best album of 2003 in the annual Pazz & Jop poll.
Writing for AllMusic, Chris Nickson called it a "treasure trove" as more than half the album's tracks had been previously unavailable.
Track listing
1."Igede" -Celestine Ukwu 4:06
2."Ka-Anyi Jikota"- Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe 5:07
3."Ekombi"- Jerry Hansen &The Ramblers Dance Band-3:12
4."Bosoe"-Joe Mensah -9:36
5."Guitar Boy"- Victor Uwaifo- 5:20
6."Bone Biara So Wo Akatua"- Nana Ampadu& The African Brothers-4:24
7."Asare"-Alex Konadu -4:58
8."Esonta"-Inyang Henshaw-3:11
9."Medzi Medzi"-E.T. Mensah-2:54
10."Omo Pupa"-Victor Olaiya
11."Ohia Asoma Wo"-King Onyina2:46
12."Bere Bote"-Rex Lawson-2:56
13."Agyeman Baidoo"-T.O. Jazz-4:14
14."Binu Binu"-Orlando Julius-2:54
15."Hilife Time"
“Consumer Guide Album
The Rough Guide to Highlife [World Music Network, 2003]
The original Afropop has always been mysteriously difficult to access stateside, so this genre survey, divvied up between Ghana and Nigeria, is your chance to become an informed reissue agitator. Will you get behind Celestine Ukwu? Victor Uwaifo? Not to be confused with Victor Olaiya? How about the legendary Rex Lawson? It wouldn't be a Rough Guide without ringers (Orlando Julius), revivals (Stephen Osita Osadebe), and anachronisms (Joe Mensah synth part I think), but near as I can tell--to compiler Graeme Ewens's credit, many of these artists are familiar only to aficionados--the preponderance comes from the '60s and '70s. In other words, it's both postindependence, which means feeling its kenkey, and not stuck on the swing era, which means livelying up itself. It's more uneven than the revivalist The Highlife Allstars: Sankofa, but sometimes uneven equals eccentric, which is good--hits that got heard because they were different. A-”
Credit:http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=11846
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