Music is ageless and timeless - Oheneba Moke

Kumasi, Feb 12, GNA - Pudonana Richard Oppong-Mensah alias Oheneba Moke, General Secretary of Music Producers of Ghana, has stated that the beauty of music is that it is ageless and timeless.

He further stated that a well-composed music, which is relevant today, would still be relevant in the next 200.

That is why, Mr Oppong-Mensah said, the music of Ghanaian highlife musicians like Nana Kwame Ampadu, Ramblers Dance Band, E.T. Mensah, Yamoah's Band, E.K. Nyame, Amakye Dede, Pat Thomas, Paapa Yankson, Kojo Antwi, Oheneba Kissi, Jewel Ackah, Daddy Lumba and others, have remained and will forever remain evergreen.

In a write up titled, "Music Is Ageless", he said it was therefore sad and ironic that the music of these great highlife musicians as well as other Ghanaian musicians were now being labelled by the new crop of radio presenters variously as 'Old Timers', 'Adadamu' and 'Sankofa' to mention a few.

By the words and actions of our radio presenters, we can see that they know very little about the precious value of music". Mr Oppong-Mensah said a white friend once asked him the meaning of 'Adadamu' and 'Sankofa' and why the music of great Ghanaian highlife musicians was labelled as 'old timers'.

This situation, he said, not only embarrassed him but also rendered him speechless and could not offer any tangible explanation but that it was a mistake, which would be corrected at the appropriate time. He said on the world music map, Ghana is recorded as the highlife country, explaining that first and foremost, the present crop of Ghanaian musicians were not Americans and cannot therefore play hip-life music like Americans.

The hip-life music Ghanaian musician's play is therefore boring and not attractive to the outside world. Above all music is valued by its originality and not by adaptation. Mr Oppong-Mensah said most people were under the erroneous impression that radio stations promote music, pointing out that this assumption was not correct and that rather it was music that promotes radio stations.

Television and radio stations have to play good music to enable their viewers and listeners to always tune to their stations. Touching on the presentation of artistes on stage, he said it was very important to portray the country's culture.

Unfortunately in Ghana when a hip-life artiste comes on stage, one can hardly tell whether he or she is an American or Ghanaian, adding that the dressing and general flow of the songs are all tilted towards America or some European country.

He asked Ghanaian musicians to appeal to the rest of the world with their indigenous Africa dress styles and rhythms before they can be accepted by the outside world as truly African artistes. Our music must not be crucified prematurely. We must note that by the 1970s, Ghanaian highlife music was internationally regarded, especially on the West African market.

Mr Oppong-Mensah said highlife was however, dying gradually and therefore called on all to strive to stop this decline and rather improve upon it to establish and gain more international recognition and Ghana's identity.