The Ghanaian group Kyekyeku & Super Opong Stars presents an unique and energetic sound, a mix of Highlife, Afrobeat, Afro Funk and Palmwine Folk, which explodes in an emotional Afro-urban beat, anchored in lyrics that remind us of village songs and ancient African spirituality, and lyrics of protest and love. It is a revival of the vintage sounds of the 1970s, with punchy horns, rhythms and an overall pulsating vibe to have fun with and that, at the same time, invites us to be aware of our human condition.

 

The project stems from the former group Kyekyeku & Ghanalogue Highlife, which for the past five years has thrilled audiences on stages across Africa and Europe. Originally from Ghana, birthplace of Highlife music, the group released in October 2022 its first album, “Funky Pangolin”.  In this album, the swing and bop of Highlife music still remains, its dynamism, intensity and nuance is all laid out in the open and a wide epoch of the Highlife music.

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"Despite seemingly falling off the surface of the mainstream, efforts by artists like Kyekyeku demonstrate that the good highlife album – the one that captures prowling, ancestral guitars and definitive 70s West African symphonic elements that connive for a resounding auditory experience – will always have a place." (@Gabriel Myers Hansen - Music in Africa)

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The group is led by one of the leading names of contemporary Ghanaian music, Kyekyeku (Tche-Tche-Kou), a "wizard with a guitar" (CNN). Part of a new generation of Ghanaian musicians seeking to find contemporary expressions for the great musical heritage of West Africa, Kyekyeku’s music draws from the Forest Folk Palmwine Blues and the cross rhythms of Ghana that gave birth to some of the unique styles to have come out of west Africa, particularly Highlife and Afrobeat.

 

In 2021 Kyekyeku was part of the six-member ACCES curation committee responsible for selecting the artists for ACCES 2021 showcases in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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In April 2023, Kyekyeku entered Brazilian waters with the release of “Saravá”, a feat with the famous Brazilian singer Luedji Luna, uniting sounds, continents and ancestry.