Ojah Awake – Osibisa, 1976

🇬🇭 🎶 🌍 🔥 🥁 Osibisa shone throughout the 1970s, starting with their debut album in 1971 and touring worldwide. Ojah Awake, released in 1976, fully embraces the Afro-rock fusion of the band, led by Ghanaians Teddy Osei, Sol Amarfio, and Mac Tontoh. The album cover, bursting with energy, does not betray its contents. It opens with a jubilant cover of The Coffee Song, originally by Sinatra, marking another success for Osibisa. Tracks like The Warrior and Dance The Body Music—with its Afro-disco flair, enhanced by Kiki Gyan’s Moog—keep the momentum high. On the B-side, Africa reclaims its place with the title track, Ojah Awake, and its fiery percussion. The explosive blend of African rhythms, jazz, funk, and everything in between unfolds in an album undeniably made for the stage. One must not forget the beautiful, breath-like Flying Bird, set in the tropical forest, and its Sahel counterpart on the B-side, Harmattan, echoing the desert wind.