Hallock Hill

African Brothers Dance Band (International), “Ebi Te Yie” African Brothers Dance Band (International) (Afribos, 1970)

Well, I return, and with a hard-to-find track from the great African Brothers Dance Band (International). By the time they’d released this full-length in 1970, leader P.S.K. Ampadu and his group had recorded 56 tracks “on the 45 rpm” as the sleeve notes read. “The African Brothers Band was formed in the year 1963 where its first inauguration was held in September the same year under the Patronage of Mr. Oheneba Kwabena Nyarko and seven others… Under the leadership and Secretaryship of P.S.K. Ampadu and Nana Nyarko respectively, the Band was run as a ‘Part Time Job’ where bandsmen met in the evenings after closing from their various types of work, for practices or undertook engagements. The African Brothers gained popularity after their first record ‘Agyanka Dabere’ was out which met the public’s satisfaction. That was in the final month of 1966. After this number which gave them the vim of encouragement they tried and produced more hits which earned them more popularity. Of all these hits ‘Ebi Te Yie’ was undisputably accepted by the public to be the best record ever made in those times that was in 1968 where the band had turned professional after Mr. D.K. Nyarko and S.K. Osafo have financially assisted them in purchasing better instruments to work with…”

Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) of Animal Collective acknowledged his recent indebtedness to the band in his interview with Bob Boilen. Listen to the interview here on NPR. This self-titled LP cost me a pretty penny not too long ago, but there are other ways to listen to it.