Alogte Oho and his Sounds of Joy - O Yinne! (Philophon)

What Your Ears Say & The Cover Looks Like

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What We Say

If you need a life affirming, smile inducing weekend soundtrack then crank up the uplifting Frafra gospel vocals of Alogte Oho  chorally assisted by the aptly named Sounds of Joy, who together exuberantly unite the eclectic, dance floor pointing rhythms which span traditional Northern Ghanaian roots, Afro reggae to the downright swinging & positively funkalicious. Another winner from Philophon Records.

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What The Release NOtes Say

Their single “Mam Yinne Wa”, which was released in 2016 and produced by Max Weissenfeldt (Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield Brothers), and their debut album of the same name from 2019 brought Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy a worldwide audience and meanwhile also a lively concert schedule in Europe.

Gilles Peterson stated after the band's performance at his World Wide Festival: “It was my absolute favorite moment in 16 years at the festival. They were everything that music is for me in 2022." A further album was needed. Here it is!

“O Yinne” is now the second album by Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy, on which Max Weissenfeldt has taken over the direction again. The album was primarily recorded in Weissenfeldt's "Joy Sound Studios" in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, deep in the tropical rainforest of Ghana.

The gospel choir singing, which is reminiscent of the trombones of Jericho in intensity, is the brand core of the group alongside the melodic brass interjections, the flashing synthesizer accents and the heavily grooving rhythm section. However, anyone who thinks of what is commonly referred to as Gospel when hearing the word will be surprised, because gospel here only refers to the textual content. Musically, it's an Afro-futuristic firework of pentatonic vocal explosions, carried by rolling West African rhythms. It’s Frafra-Gospel, not Gospel.

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