Trotro

DJ Katapila — Trotro

Coming out February 19 is the coolest thing I’ve heard in a whiiiile: DJ Katapila. I was walking in the market in Kumasi with Ata Kak last spring and we went to  a shop full of tapes. There were two bootleg Katapila tapes there, didn’t know what they were but when I heard them on the portable deck later that night I was pretty shocked! Ghanaian electronic music producer and hard-working DJ is a 42-year-old Fruity Loops head with an ear toward Detroit and Chicago dance music. His album from 2009 Trotro is available for pre-order at Boomkat and iTunes and elsewhere.

And a DJ mix by him that’s completely bonkers right here.

 

More about DJ Katapila:

DJ Katapila makes Ga traditional music using electronic sounds instead of live percussion to create his own kind of what he calls house music.

In the context of Ghana’s pop music landscape, Katapila’s music is singular. The uptempo, bass-heavy, Roland 808-rooted sounds echo early 1990’s Detroit techno and Chicago acid house more than the contemporary hiplife productions blasting across Ghanaian airwaves currently.

However, the structure of Katapila’s sound directly descends from Ga musical lineage found around Accra. Neo-traditional dance music forms gome, kpanlogo and gyama are there.

DJ Katapila didn’t start producing music until he was 39 years old. Around 1998, began chanting and rapping in Twi and Ga during instrumental breaks of songs he was DJing. He added Yamaha DD11 electronic drum pads and sampler and invented new creations on the fly. Katapila then began experimenting with program beats using Fruity Loops on his laptop.

His music reflects his love for the international dance pop that filtered into Accra’s radio waves in the ‘90s: Inner City’s “Big Fun”; C&C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat”; Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman”; even Rick Astley hits, among many others. Katapila mixed international tunes with highlife—J.A. City Boys and AB Crentsil—as well as hiplife, Ghanaian gospel, Jamaican dancehall, soca and regional Francophone hits. This blend helped set the stage for Trotro and the inspired yet minimalist dance music Katapila now creates.

 

11 Comments

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The Show: To the max | The Joint Radio Showreply
February 19, 2016 at 6:36 pm

[…] DJ Katapila – Zoomlion […]

Review: DJ Katapila – Trotro [Awesome Tapes from Africa, 19th February 2016] | Rhythm Passportreply
March 11, 2016 at 4:45 am

[…] genesis of the Trotro release comes after Shimkovitz found and approached Katapila with two pirated tapes. Katapila was […]

DJ Katapila Trotro | uababreply
March 16, 2016 at 5:12 am

[…] DJ Katapila Trotro (Awesome Tapes From Africa, 2016) more details […]

la radio uabab #128 |reply
April 12, 2016 at 11:07 am

[…] DJ Katapila Trotro (Awesome Tapes From Africa, 2016) more details ( ( ( ↓ ) ) […]

Africa rising: Space Echo and the cosmic sounds of Cape Verde | Before you go to UAEreply
June 8, 2016 at 4:52 am

[…] faster speeds can get an accompanying fix from another recent African treasure: DJ Katapila’s Trotro. Released by the enterprising label Awesome Tapes from Africa, which offers rich archival records […]

Ata Kak and Hailu Mergia to tour Europe for ATFA 10th anniversaryreply
October 5, 2016 at 3:00 pm

[…] of traditional dance styles also have a home on the label (check out last year’s Trotro), while Shimkowitz will DJ in […]

Ata Kak and Hailu Mergia to tour Europe for Awesome Tapes 10th anniversary | BeautyCribTVreply
October 5, 2016 at 3:07 pm

[…] interpretations of traditional dance styles also have a home on the label (check out last year’s Trotro), while Shimkowitz will DJ in […]

Ata Kak and Hailu Mergia to tour Europe for Awesome Tapes 10th anniversary – Our Ladies and Gentlemenreply
October 5, 2016 at 4:23 pm

[…] interpretations of traditional dance styles also have a home on the label (check out last year’s Trotro), while Shimkowitz will DJ in […]

Rastafari beatsreply
November 3, 2016 at 5:10 am

great tour. love it rasta for life

Album Review: Katapila Trotro – An Electrifying Sonic Portrait of Ghana’s capital | Dandanoreply
December 8, 2016 at 10:23 pm

[…] experience Accra vicariously through this 9-track album, reissued earlier this year by Awesome Tapes From Africa despite an independent release in 2009. This much-needed publishing and publicity boost did well to […]

Mateo Iglesiasreply
March 20, 2017 at 8:14 am

thank you for your amazing work

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