Released

The beautiful thing about this album — and what a beautiful album it is — is its openness. Underpinned by the Fra Fra rhythms of the Upper East Region of Ghana and the blissful atmospheres of highlife, the group doesn’t shy away from exploring a multitude of other sounds, from the futuristic Afrobeat of the opening track to the dubby “Yinne Te Yelle Be.” It’s a true collaboration, and you can hear the mutual curiosity that allows each artist to take up space and mold the album. Alogte Oho’s expressive voice, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Jimi Tenor’s joyous sax and flute stabs, and the otherworldly harmonies of Sounds of Joy, the trio of singers that have accompanied Oho for years (and which includes Florence Adooni, another Philophon favorite) are tied together by Max Weissenfeldt’s production, who keeps things quirky with the addition of the odd synth here and there. O Yinne! is an absolute joy.

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

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