KONKOMA (Ghana, United Kingdom)

Was begun by producers Max Grunhard and Ben Lamdin (Nostalgia 77). The initial idea was to create a band around two highly esteemed Ghanaian musicians – Alfred Bannerman and Emmanuel Rentzos. Both are mercurial talents who over the years have graced the stage with the likes of Bobby Womack, Hugh Masakela and Peter Green as well as being long term members of the Afro-rock band Osibisa, but it wasn’t until KonKoma that the two old friends have had an original project through which to showcase their talents together. Once Max and Ben had won their support, the band evolved further with the addition of next-generation Ghanaian musicians, the formidable percussionist/vocalist Nii Tagoe and exotic vocalist/Kora man Reginald ‘Jojo’ Yates. Along with legendary UK rhythm section Derrick McIntyre and Jose Joyette, they set about producing an electric sound that was both an homage to Ghana’s musical past and an exploration of its future possibilities with a heavyweight line up that soon proved to be more than the sum of its parts.