Frimpong, K. & His Cubano Fiestas - The Blue Album / The Black Album (2025 Reissue)

Two Seminal albums from cult Ghanaian musician, Alhaji K. Frimpong, and his group the Cubano Fiestas, recorded in 1976 and 1977 respectively and considered to be some of the best highlife albums ever recorded, at the pinnacle of West African musical tradition and innovation.

Both originally self titled, they have become known by the colour of the covers - Blue and Black respectively.

The Blue Album brings new arrangements to traditional Ghanaian melodies and features the masterpiece, 'Kyenkyen Bi Adi M’awu' (come back my love) - universally known in Ghana, covered and sampled by artists such as Chronnix, Gnarls Barkley andmany more.

'The Black Album' expands the electronic elements and features the equally visionary 'Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena',although the real gem is hiding on the B side: the extended groove of “Adam Nana”. Sinuously evolving guitar lines,clavinet vamps, harmonised vocal snatches and otherworldly percussion expand and contract over a full quarter of an hour - a Ghanaian riposte to the Afro Jazz experiments going on at the same time on the other side of the Atlantic.

Although popular in Ghana at the time of the release, the albums were never distributed internationally and original copies of the album are extremely rare. The albums got a limited reissue in 2011 and have been unavailable since - evenreissue copies sell for high prices on the second hand market.

For fans of: Khruangbin, The Cavemen, Madlib, Fela Kuti