91Èȱ¬

Verity Sharp shares the sounds of our latest exclusive collaboration session - a musical meeting of minds between vocalist and producer GAIKA and master percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah of the dub ensemble African Head Charge.

GAIKA is an artist once described as ‘Britain’s most vital rapper’. His sound is wide-ranging and sometimes cinematic, combining elements of grime, dancehall, R&B, electronic and soundscape, with lyrics that often reflect social issues and the causes he champions. His latest album Drift will be released in September, and is an experimental ensemble work of ‘nostalgic escapism’ made alongside collaborators including Bbymutha and Kidä.

Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah is a master percussionist and frontman for the psychedelic dub ensemble African Head Charge, which he formed in 1981. Bonjo started in the 1970s as a session hand percussionist with artists like Desmond Dekker, before meeting the producer Adrian Sherwood, his collaborator of more than forty years. Their new album A Trip To Bolgatanga is their first release in twelve years, and takes the form of a musical journey to Bonjo’s current hometown in north Ghana.

Elsewhere in the show, Verity serves up new releases galore, including hydrophone recordings of goings-on under the sea, the gamelan soundtrack of a purification ritual in Bali, and a reissue of 1980s bikutsi from Cameroon.

Produced by Katie Callin and Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3