Panji of Pigen Music had some spare time this morning, so he shared some of his stories and thoughts about music, music in Ghana, where he fits in and where global fans and exposure fit in. An interesting point he made is that music made anywhere should appeal to the musicians immediate surrounding. By extension, he considers that taking an African artist and modifying his sound to appeal to a specifically western audience is doomed for failure. We couldn’t agree more!

Panji also told us an interesting anecdote explaining how he became involved with recording and production: playing the guitar along with a piano, he always had to be closer to the microphone, since the piano is louder. After experimenting with mic placement, and soon 2 track recording, he actually got pretty good at it. Fast forward 25 years (Panji started real young!), he’s still pretty good at it, and is one of the most forward thinking producers in Ghana.

Next was Dela of Hewale Sound, a great beo-traditional ensemble. After chatting with him about his past experiences sharing Ghanaian folklore all over the world, he invited us to a small concert right behind the National Theater. Balafon, djembe, cajon, calabash shaker, cowbell and flute… They got everybody dancing!! No photos to upload just yet: blackberry and wordpress still have a lot to learn from each other…

Last but not least we saw Appietus again today, and we discussed big plans together… We don’t want to jink anyx`thing, but keep his name in mind, it looks like he’ll be popping up here often.

More (including photos + videos) soon!..