Chief John Okpor

For this selection of the highlife turntable I have chosen a track, Achuka Onye, by Chief John Okpor. A later Ukwauni highlife musician he played with a band called the Golden Tones and had the same straight ahead style as other ndowka perfomers like Bob Fred and king Ubulu. Its hard to really tell who is more of a direct more of an influence as the punchiness of the vocals reminds one of some of the vocal of King Ubulu, but the guitar playing and percussion are very much in line with Bob Fred's playing. Okpor appears to have deep roots in the Ukwauni musical community as one of his earliest records on the Yiobs label came out in 1976 and I have one LP of his that came out in 1992. Okpor thanks Bob Fred and Tony Otu in the liner notes for their support and he did an LP on Franco Lee Ezute label. His records also appear on such rare indigenous labels as Franco, Aplow, URGood and Yiobs.

The song is from an LP Odogo Nmgboto put out on the URGood label, possibly some time in the early 80's. The song is a laid back affair. I like the vocals, especially around the 6 1/2 minute mark, and there are a number of nice guitar licks and drum breaks. I hope you like it.

Mmadu Osa International Band

For the next song on the highlife turntable I have selected a track by the Mmadu Osa International band titled Ndu Osa. Led by Ikechukwu Izuegbu (alias the spokesman), he was a "lyrical philosopher" credited with "speaking the minds of many" on this Izuson label release circa 1985. I do not know much about Ikechukwu, but he appears to have spent several years apart from his family living in places like Ibadan, Kano, Lagos and Makurdi while they stayed in Ogwashi. This LP appears to be a dedication to his family and a thanks to God as it was released 1 year after they were reunited.

This is a deeply spiritual band. The songs are described as commentaries and they reflect on the strength that one can gain by being faithful and loyal to a family, a people and a God. The words Mmadu Osa translate roughly into the phrase: Let goodness exist God. The song I have selected is Ndu Osa and translates into the phrase: Life God.

Its a wonderful song that runs over 18 minutes and includes Ikechukwu's haunting vocals backed by a first rate band. Check out the way the horns follows and leads the vocalist through the song and the super conga and drum breaks. There is also a great guitar solo around the 15.30 minute mark. One of my desert island tracks. I hope you like it.