- Artist
- Display Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- A Trip To Bolgatanga
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL154
- Release Date
- July 7, 2023
-
Vinyl 1×LP
$24.99 -
Vinyl 1×LP
$24.99Black vinyl
Read More- + WAV / FLAC
- + Poster
ONULP154
- 12x12" Peter Harris print
- Folded A2 On-U Sound poster
-
Vinyl
$27.99 -
CD 2×CD
$14.99
-
Download
$9.99320 kbps, LAME-encoded
Genres
African Head Charge have operated at a scintillating intersection of Jamaican, Ghanaian, and British music since forming in 1981, and with their first new material in over a decade in 2023, the band present some of their best music to date. Any act stepping back into the spotlight is a reason to rejoice, but with how long it’s been since we last saw African Head Charge grace the airwaves, there’s a real cause for celebration this time around. Their last batch of new tracks came in 2011 on Voodoo Of The Godsent followed by a reissue series of their hefty catalogue. With A Trip To Bolgatanga, Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, Adrian Sherwood, and co. are back in full swing, heading from the UK to Ghana to record an electrified variety of psychedelic dub infused with West African folk.
The risks in taking such a long break from their status as a legendary act are considerable, but Noah’s travels across Ghana reassure there’s value in taking one’s time, and the results certainly justify the wait. There’s an immense variety of drums and traditional music all over West Africa, let alone Ghana, and A Trip To Bolgatanga contains years of Noah’s journeying to learn about them. “All the drumming and the chanting, it took a while to do,” he says of the album’s development. “I'm always meeting drummers, all over Ghana. The Fante, the Akim, the Ga, the Bolgatanga, all the tribes, and they all have their different drums. I try to learn as much as I can, and put it all together.”
"A bad attitude is like a flat tyre" the mission statement on the opening track dictates with an uplifting spirit , "you can't go anywhere until you change it" What follows is a round of impassioned vocals and group chants, drums bubbling and reverberating, and echoing dub production colouring kologo strums and clinking percussion. The band fold in a cross continental melting pot of references: the syncopated rhythms and bass worship of Jamaica, the talking drums and elements of highlife from Ghana, and psychedelic electronics from the UK.
‘Accra Electronica’ switches the mood up instantly with boisterous and smooth saxophones gliding over a deep beat, powered by dub bass, downtempo house rhythms, and funk tinged wah guitars. 'Push Me Pull You' takes things even further into a menacing atmosphere of stormy bass creating friction with trilling, dextrous woodwinds. Urgently paced tabla drums hop between Adrian Sherwood’s turbulent club edits, verging on abstract and deconstructed dub with skipping vocal cuts and rhythms. Meanwhile, 'I Chant Too' is lush and dreamy with spaced out pads, leading into the heavy, hazy fills of brass on 'Passing Clouds', expertly mixing the Western drum kit with West African percussion in a gleaming display of psychedelic dub. Showing off the album's melange of styles, the title track blends together blissful piano and string plucks, vibrating rhodes, and a steady groove in a mellow, soulful downtempo jam.
On-U Sound’s incredible legacy is continued in African Head Charge, with the band being conceived of in the label’s early years “to make Brian Eno’s “vision of a psychedelic Africa” exist in musical form. Over forty years into their career, Sherwood and the band have undoubtedly succeeded with their vision: they’re still a cut above the rest, connecting continents, cultures, and musical practices together to make one of the most cohesive and inventive reggae albums this side of the millennium.
Digital Tracklist
-
1
A Bad Attitude
3:42
Buy
A Bad Attitude
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
2
Accra Electronica
3:24
Buy
Accra Electronica
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
3
Push Me Pull You
3:49
Buy
Push Me Pull You
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
4
I Chant Too
3:57
Buy
I Chant Too
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
5
Asalatua
3:58
Buy
Asalatua
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
6
Passing Clouds
2:56
Buy
Passing Clouds
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
7
I’m A Winner
3:13
Buy
I’m A Winner
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
8
A Trip To Bolgatanga
4:23
Buy
A Trip To Bolgatanga
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
9
Never Regret A Day
3:37
Buy
Never Regret A Day
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
-
10
Microdosing
3:43
Buy
Microdosing
-
WAV / FLAC
$1.99 -
MP3
$1.35
-
African Head Charge
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Passing Clouds
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL154C
- Release Date
- May 31, 2023
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL141
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Voodoo Of The Godsent
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL140
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Vision Of A Psychedelic Africa
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL139
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Songs Of Praise
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL50
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- In Pursuit of Shashamane Land
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL65
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Drumming Is A Language (1990-2011)
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUCD142
- Release Date
- March 6, 2020
- Box Set
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge
- ReleaseProduct
- Super Mystic Brakes
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDPL59
- Release Date
- November 25, 2016
- Download
On-U Sound
-
- Artist
- Creation Rebel
- ReleaseProduct
- High Above Harlesden 1978 - 2023
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL159
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- CD
- Bundle
- Download
-
- Artist
- Creation Rebel
- ReleaseProduct
- Hostile Environment
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL160
- Release Date
- October 6, 2023
- LP (special)
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- African Head Charge and King Ayisoba
- ReleaseProduct
- A Bad Attitude
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL154B
- Release Date
- April 26, 2023
- Download
-
- Artist
- Jeb Loy Nichols
- ReleaseProduct
- Under The Willow Tree
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDP64D
- Release Date
- January 20, 2023
- Download
-
- Artist
- Horace Andy
- ReleaseProduct
- Watch Over Them (Moody Boyz Remix)
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDP65D
- Release Date
- December 7, 2022
- Download
-
- Artist
- Horace Andy
- ReleaseProduct
- Rockers & Scorchers
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL152X
- Release Date
- December 1, 2022
- CD
- Cassette
- Bundle
- Download
-
- Artist
- Jeb Loy Nichols
- ReleaseProduct
- The United States Of The Broken Hearted
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL161
- Release Date
- November 11, 2022
- LP
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- Jeb Loy Nichols
- ReleaseProduct
- I’ve Enjoyed As Much Of This Good Life (As I Can Take)
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL161S2
- Release Date
- October 19, 2022
- Download
Dub, Reggae and Dancehall
-
- Artist
- Prince Far I
- ReleaseProduct
- Cry Tuff Chants On U
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL156X
- Release Date
- December 3, 2021
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- U-Roy
- ReleaseProduct
- The Seven Gold
- Label
- 333
- Catalogue Number
- 5050580791725
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Joe Armon-Jones
- ReleaseProduct
- Wrong Side Of Town
- Label
- Aquarii
- Catalogue Number
- AQU007D
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- 12”
- Download
-
- Artist
- Creation Rebel
- ReleaseProduct
- High Above Harlesden 1978 - 2023
- Label
- On-U Sound
- Catalogue Number
- ONUDL159
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- CD
- Bundle
- Download
-
- Artist
- Lee "Scratch" Perry, Greentea Peng
- ReleaseProduct
- 100lbs of Summer (Remixes)
- Label
- False Idols
- Catalogue Number
- K7S410S3
- Release Date
- February 23, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Eddy Grant
- ReleaseProduct
- Killer On The Rampage
- Label
- Ice Records
- Catalogue Number
- ICE07D
- Release Date
- February 23, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Lee "Scratch" Perry and Greentea Peng
- ReleaseProduct
- 100lbs of Summer
- Label
- False Idols
- Catalogue Number
- K7S410S1
- Release Date
- November 15, 2023
- Download
-
Unavailable
- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Top Sounds From Top Deck
- Label
- Pressure Sounds
- Catalogue Number
- 1775124
- Release Date
- November 1, 2023
Folk and Traditional Music
-
- Artist
- Mdou Moctar
- ReleaseProduct
- Funeral for Justice
- Label
- Matador
- Catalogue Number
- OLE2031DA
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Senyawa
- ReleaseProduct
- Vajranala
- Label
- The state51 Conspiracy
- Catalogue Number
- CON970
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Your Kisses Are Like Roses: Fado Recordings, 1914-1936
- Label
- Death Is Not The End
- Catalogue Number
- 5050580824652
- Release Date
- April 19, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Clarissa Connelly
- ReleaseProduct
- World of Work
- Label
- Warp Records
- Catalogue Number
- WARPDD370
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- LP
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- Omar Souleyman
- ReleaseProduct
- Erbil
- Label
- Mad Decent
- Catalogue Number
- MAD614
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- LP (special)
- Download
-
- Artist
- Reyna Tropical
- ReleaseProduct
- Malegría
- Label
- Psychic Hotline
- Catalogue Number
- PSY040DIGITAL
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Listened to by Others (A TAL compilation of different voices)
- Label
- TAL
- Catalogue Number
- 880918265650
- Release Date
- March 8, 2024
- Download
-
- Artist
- Haruomi Hosono & Mac DeMarco
- ReleaseProduct
- Boku Wa Chotto
- Label
- Stones Throw Records
- Catalogue Number
- STH3260
- Release Date
- February 21, 2024
- Download
Limited Editions
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Jeff Mills
- ReleaseProduct
- The Trip - Enter the Black Hole
- Label
- Axis Records
- Catalogue Number
- AX119
- Release Date
- May 10, 2024
- LP
- CD
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Mental Groove Classics Vol. 3
- Label
- Musique Pour La Danse
- Catalogue Number
- MPD049
- Release Date
- May 31, 2024
- LP (special)
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Mental Groove Classics Vol. 2
- Label
- Musique Pour La Danse
- Catalogue Number
- MPD048
- Release Date
- May 31, 2024
- LP
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Hypnotone
- ReleaseProduct
- Hypnotone
- Label
- Musique Pour La Danse
- Catalogue Number
- MPD050
- Release Date
- June 21, 2024
- LP (special)
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Shit and Shine
- ReleaseProduct
- Rum And Coke
- Label
- Riot Season
- Catalogue Number
- REPOSELP132
- Release Date
- May 31, 2024
- LP (special)
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- Crypto Order
- ReleaseProduct
- Skin Bank
- Label
- Alter
- Catalogue Number
- ALT79
- Release Date
- June 14, 2024
- LP (special)
- Download
-
Pre-order
- Artist
- KUČKA
- ReleaseProduct
- Can You Hear Me Dreaming?
- Label
- LUCKYME®
- Catalogue Number
- LM089D
- Release Date
- July 12, 2024
- LP (special)
- CD
- Download
Album of the Week
-
- Artist
- Broadcast
- ReleaseProduct
- Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006 - 2009
- Label
- Warp Records
- Catalogue Number
- WARP372
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- LP
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- Luke Vibert / Posthuman
- ReleaseProduct
- Unitary Covert Sonic Procedures IV
- Label
- Balkan Vinyl
- Catalogue Number
- Cat: BV45R
- Release Date
- April 26, 2024
- EP
-
- Artist
- DMX Krew
- ReleaseProduct
- Spiral Dance
- Label
- Hypercolour
- Catalogue Number
- HYPELP026
- Release Date
- April 5, 2024
- LP
- Download
-
- Artist
- Clarissa Connelly
- ReleaseProduct
- World of Work
- Label
- Warp Records
- Catalogue Number
- WARPDD370
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- LP
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- Mount Kimbie
- ReleaseProduct
- The Sunset Violent
- Label
- Warp Records
- Catalogue Number
- WARPDD350
- Release Date
- April 5, 2024
- LP (special)
- CD
- Download
-
- Artist
- Kelly Moran
- ReleaseProduct
- Moves in the Field
- Label
- Warp Records
- Catalogue Number
- WARPDD362
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- LP (special)
- CD
- Bundle
- Download
-
- Artist
- Jlin
- ReleaseProduct
- Akoma
- Label
- Planet Mu Records Ltd.
- Catalogue Number
- ZIQ460
- Release Date
- March 22, 2024
- LP
- Bundle
- Download
-
- Artist
- Four Tet
- ReleaseProduct
- Three
- Label
- Text Records
- Catalogue Number
- TEXT056D
- Release Date
- March 15, 2024
- LP
- CD
- Bundle
- Download