Osibisa

Osibisa is a British Afro-rock group formed in London in 1969. It brings together four expatriate African musicians and three Caribbean musicians, and its membership includes Teddy Osei, Sol Amarfio, Kofi Ayivor, Loughty Amao, Roy Bedeau, Jean Mandengue, Emmanuel Rentzos, Del Richardson, Bessa Simons, Kiki Gyan and others associated with the band over time.

Background

The group is active from 1969 to the present and is based in London, United Kingdom. Its music is associated with afro rock, afro-funk, afrobeat, highlife and progressive rock. Osibisa is widely regarded as one of the first African bands to achieve broad popularity, and this has led to claims that it helps establish world music as a category.

Early history

Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio first play together in Ghana in the 1950s in a highlife band called The Star Gazers, alongside Mamon Shareef and Farhan Freere. They later leave to form The Comets, with Osei’s brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet, and the group scores a West African hit with the 1958 song “Pete Pete.”

In 1962, Osei moves to London on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government to study music. Two years later, he forms Cat's Paw, an early band that combines highlife, rock and soul. In 1969, he persuades Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and Osibisa is formed.

Name and influence

The band name is linked to the Fante word “osibisaba”, meaning highlife. The group has described “Osibisa” as referring to “criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness.” Their style influences many emerging African musicians over several decades.