Ghana: Rim Akandoh Jnr launches Amamare band with debut album, tour

1 sep 2025 - 11:28

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

Ghanaian musician Rim Akandoh Jnr, known for his work as drummer and bandleader for highlife veteran Ebo Taylor and the Saltpond City Band, has introduced a new project aimed at carrying the genre forward.

Amamare highlife band.

Akandoh has formed an eight-piece band, Amamare, based in his hometown of Cape Coast, a city with a long history in Ghanaian highlife. The group was established in 2022 and blends the guitar-driven style of 1970s highlife with Afro-funk influences.

Amamare will tour Ghana this September before embarking on a European run in 2026. Their local performances include Afahyie Festival Jam at Oasis Beach in Cape Coast on 4 September, the 7DSTV Ahoma Nsia Live Band Show in Accra on 19 September, and Shikomey Homowo Festival at Accra’s +233 Jazz Bar & Grill on 27 September.

The band’s debut album, Man Shall Be Free, was released in April 2025 through Afro Urban Project on vinyl, CD and digital formats. The eight-track release combines newly mixed material from the repertoire of Akandoh’s father, the late highlife musician Rim Akandoh and his Prince Sparrows Band, with original compositions.

Highlife pioneer Ebo Taylor endorsed the project, saying: “I am happy to see Rim Akandoh Jnr, former drummer of my Saltpond City Band, come out with his first album. During his stint with my band, I was impressed by his intense energy and composure in his drumming. Rim Akandoh Jnr brings the highlife of our time into the future.”

Pat Thomas, of Kwashibu Area Band fame, features on the album, which was recorded at Gracious Studios in Cape Coast by producer and keyboardist Michael Awuni. Other contributors include Akablay and Kweku Mensah.

Lyrically, the album covers themes of daily life, relationships and social issues. The title track, Man Shall Be Free, combines traditional highlife rhythms with horns and layered percussion. Abenim draws from the Osoode folk tradition and reinterprets a 25-minute piece from the 1972 Prince Sparrows Band album 'Fame Ko Baabi A Odo Wo'. Another track, 'Hwe Wo Ho Yie' (“Be Careful of Man”), reflects on trust and personal relationships, echoing the moral and social themes common in highlife music of the 1970s.

Amamare’s line-up includes John Hakeem (vocals), Eric Aseidu Agyekum (guitar), Emmanuel Ackon (bass), Michael Awuni (keyboard), Dominic Ansah (percussion), Emmanuel Adjei (trumpet and flugelhorn), and Daniel Yiadom Adarkwa (saxophone).

Rim Akandoh Jnr