Okaidja Afroso: Àbòr Édiń - Echoes of Africa from the Ancient Sacred Tree.

Àbɔɔ Édíŋ (Melanin Earth Garden in the Gãdangmé language of coastal Ghana) is the next installment and second chapter of Okaidja Afroso’s Ancient Africa Wisdom Trilogy music series, falling in the footsteps of the first chapter, Jàkú Mũmɔ - Ancestral Spirit.

Bringing a new mix of melodies echoing voices of Africa from the Ancient Sacred Tree, Okaidja connects the listener with unfolding stories of the present and ceremonial stories of the past while looking into the future.

Afroso’s palm wine roots shine through in his gently swinging nylon-string guitar accompaniments, notably on the opener, “Fóó Tè.” His songs are grounded in rootsy Africanisms—12/8 time, call-and-response vocals—but there’s more going on here. The soundscape is sparse—guitar, light percussion, bass and vocals, yet the influences are wide and worldly. Brazilian percussion, touches of jazz harmony, and complex vocal arranging all figure into his distinctive soundscape.

Okaidja builds on the pioneering Afro-acoustic music of Lokua Kanza, Richard Bona and Habib Koite. What sets him apart are his crisply open and precise arrangements, and his striking vocal sound. His own voice can coo silkily, or cry with a reedy edge. There is always lively interaction between a lead voice and a chorus, each with its own color.

“The third eye-vision I had for this project was - what if Africa had never been colonized by The West? How would we have evolved till now? This realization encourages me to strip all the melodies that have influenced my thought as an artist, to dig deeper into my soul to allow fresh new pathways to form. The music in Àbòr Édiń combines poetry and storytelling to connect the listener to my newfound oasis.”