Rob Way’s afro-cosmic album, first pressed in the 1970’s, seems to have come out of an imaginary science fiction movie, made by one of the most enigmatic artists to come out of West-Africa.
German-based label Analog Africa has been unearthing the best in both explosive foot-shufflers and hypnotic sauntering treasures from Africa for the last decade.
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This thime, it’s Rob Way’s enigmatic and groovy Funky Rob Way. Born in Accra, Ghana, in 1947, Rob was an admirer of American artists Otis Reading, James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles. He began his music carreer in Benin with bands such as the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo and the Black Santiago, and then went back to Ghana to write his own songs. He joined the Mag-2 military band in 1977, founded by Amponsah Rockson, which had an entire section of its ensemble dedicated to horns along.
Together, they recorded two cosmic, Afro-American funk-inspired progressive dancefloor albums sung in English. Funky Rob Way is the first of the two, a blend of psychedelic wah-wah guitars, catchy horn hooks, and groovy percussions led by Rob’s charismatic energy and Amponsah’s arrangements.
Funky Rob Way LP is available on Analog Africa. Order it on Bandcamp.
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