Biography
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley was born in the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi. The
multi-talented and internationally celebrated musician has decades or
experience under his belt. He is a versatile and irrepressible
singer/songwriter/producer, who is credited by some to be the originator
of afro rap. He exploded on the music scene with a jazzy highlife
sounds called Simigwa-Do.
His interest in music dates back to age
eight, when he began playing with his father's flute until he was able
to teach himself how to play. His formal musical training came at the
age of fourteen. The young music enthusiast continued to learn the
rudiments of music from the late Sammy Lartey and Ebo Taylor.
Ambolley
spent a great part of his day listening to records of musicians living
in the United States. He contributes his free style of singing to such
mentors as James Brown, Ray Charles, and Sam Cook. During the sixties,
the young aspiring musician was excitingly impressed with the music her
heard on the popular radio show, "Voice of America Jazz Hour.
His
name has become synonymous with Simigwa music and dance since his first
hit single was released in 1973. Since that hit, he has lead many bands
including his own in 1979-80. His talent was not limited to Ghana; he
was invited to London where he performed to ‘standing room only’
crowds. Having experienced success in his own country, as well as
London, it was time for the ambitious musician to test his musical
abilities elsewhere. In 1988, Ambolley left Ghana for New York.
Ambolley
has toured throughout West Africa, Europe, Canada, and the United
States. He has performed on the same stage with some of the worlds most
celebrated artists, such as Miriam Makeba, the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti,
George Howard, Angela Bofill, Norman Connors, Manu DeBango, Lakeside,
Chikuzan Takahashi, Ricardo Estrada of Cuba, Mayuto Correa of Brazil. He
also toured Ghana with Oscar Brashear and Michael Session. Because of
his originality, his performances have left audiences raving and
shouting for more, as was the case at the world famous Apollo Theater in
Harlem, New York. He has played the House of Blues in Hollywood, is a
frequent performer at the Jazz Bakery in California and has played to
"standing room only" crowds in London, England.
Ambolley has over
17 albums to his credit and has received numerous musical awards. In
October of 2003 he was prestigiously recognized for his commitment to
his musical craft with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" by Jazz at Drew
from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles.
Additionally he received a Congressional, Gubernatorial Certificate of
Special Recognition by Congresswoman Juanita Millinder McDonald. Also
L.A.Weekly nominated Ambolley for Best World Beat Recombinant Artists in
2003.
In 2007, he released a 14 track album, The Next
Generation, after a 17 year hiatus. It featured remixes of his old hits
as well as some new songs. He has been crowned Simigwahene by the
Omanhene of Esekado Traditional Area, Nana Kwabena Nketia.
ghanaweb.com
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This record doesn't need much of an introduction. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's
debut record is one of the most iconic albums of the entire Ghanaian
discography and also boasts one of the coolest cover designs I have ever
seen. If you want to get into Ghana Funk, there's simply no way around
this record. Well, this one and of course the mighty This Is Marijata.
Simigwa was a relative big seller back in 1975 but you would be surprised how hard it is to track down a playable copy in today's Ghana. People played the daylights out of this album. Put it on and you'll understand immediately. This record is an instant party: Just add a few friends and some libations and good times will ensue. It's a law of nature. At the end of side 2 you'll just flip it over without even thinking about it. If you don't want to have to worry about wearing out your only copy, be wise and order two. This baby is limited to 1.500 copies so be quick. Get them from the source: LP/CD. The CD comes with a 12" poster with the original cover design because we know you can't wait to show this off on your wall.
The album was mastered from the original master tapes and licensed from Essiebons Records. More often than not, the studio tapes were overdubbed or destroyed but in this case you get the highest possible fidelity for your maximum enjoyment.
Simigwa was a relative big seller back in 1975 but you would be surprised how hard it is to track down a playable copy in today's Ghana. People played the daylights out of this album. Put it on and you'll understand immediately. This record is an instant party: Just add a few friends and some libations and good times will ensue. It's a law of nature. At the end of side 2 you'll just flip it over without even thinking about it. If you don't want to have to worry about wearing out your only copy, be wise and order two. This baby is limited to 1.500 copies so be quick. Get them from the source: LP/CD. The CD comes with a 12" poster with the original cover design because we know you can't wait to show this off on your wall.
The album was mastered from the original master tapes and licensed from Essiebons Records. More often than not, the studio tapes were overdubbed or destroyed but in this case you get the highest possible fidelity for your maximum enjoyment.
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Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is one of the key artists in the development of West African popular music. His 1985 album Cut Your Coat
is widely regarded as the first example of Ghanaian rap and marks the
birth of the now-dominant hiplife style. Before that, he was a central
figure in the Afro-funk revolution of the 1970’s that brought the
influence of James Brown and other American R&B artists into African
music. Here’s the first-ever authorized reissue of a
complete Ambolley album (he’s on many African compilations and plenty
of bootlegs as well), and it’s a stone classic – six songs, 31 minutes,
all killer and no filler. This was a very popular album in its day; the
original is highly collectible not because of scarcity but because most
copies are just worn out. Frank Gossner (Voodoo Funk blog, Lagos Disco
Inferno) managed to locate and license the master tapes. Now you can
put this one on the shelf right next to Fela, Geraldo Pino, Super
Etoile, Ernesto Djedje, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo -- that would be the
“absolute best of West African 70’s” shelf. Bonus attraction – some of
the most inexplicable liner notes of all time (from the original, of
course). Play often!
Tracklist
| A1 | Kwaakwaa | 5:19 |
| A2 | Akoko Ba | 5:23 |
| A3 | This Hustling World | 4:14 |
| B1 | Toffie | 6:49 |
| B2 | Adwoa | 4:08 |
| B3 | Fa No Dem Ara | 4:33 |
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