African Head Charge A Trip to Bolgatanga LP (Glow-in-the-Dark Vinyl)

The legendary collaboration between master percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and producer Adrian Sherwood return with their first new studio album in twelve years.

Originally conceived in 1981 as an attempt to make Brian Eno's "vision of a psychedelic Africa" exist in musical form, the project has evolved and mutated over the years but all the hallmarks of their classic sound are present and correct on this record: hypnotic hand drums driving rhythms to move your head and feet; coupled with mind-bending arrangements and dubwise production. Inimitable guest vocals by the award winning Ghanaian kologo master, King Ayisoba lend an extra dimension.

An act of cultish proportions, African Head Charge have been compared to Sun Ra "for their same ability to head into the unknown" - Echoes magazine.

Recorded between Ghana and the UK, A Trip To Bolgatanga is a triumphant comeback.

Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish is a constant presence throughout, bringing a respectable bounce and nervy spark to several tracks. A revolving door of added percussionists, including Mensah Akaa and Akanuoe Angela, root the otherwise dubby float of this material right in the project's titular motherland. The most inspiring figure to join the fray was apparently King Ayisoba, the Ghanaian singer and kologo master whose energy on the pair of tunes on which he's featured borders on the unhinged. He's kept gently in check by Sherwood's boxy production but puts some much needed strain on that well-established framework.