African Head Charge, the group formed by percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, will release a new album on On-U Sound Records.

Whereas Noah’s previous albums have been a melting pot of global influences, A Trip To Bolgatanga is a musical journey to Noah’s current hometown in north Ghana. It’s the first album that Noah has released in 12 years, and all 10 tracks were produced by Adrian Sherwood.

We can expect “a psychedelic travelogue across the landscape” featuring Noah’s trademark hand percussion and group chanting augmented with rumbling bass, mutated horns, dubbed out effects, disco congas, blues-inflected woodwind, and funky organ.

As with every On-U Sound production, each repeated listen reveals fresh detail, and “its power won’t be really understood until heard on a big system,” we’re told.

“It’s always a case of getting all the right ingredients sorted for Head Charge, and then having some fun with overdubs and mixing and getting it completely perfect,” says Sherwood. “We always work well together, but I think on this one we have the greatest result.”

Ahead of the release, On-U Sound has shared “A Bad Attitude,” which features one of Ghana’s foremost kologo players, King Ayisoba.

Tracklisting

01. A Bad Attitude
02. Accra Electronica
03. Push Me Pull You
04. I Chant Too
05. Asalatua
06. Passing Clouds
07. I’m A Winner
08. Trip To Bolgatanga
09. Never Regret A Day
10. Microdosing

A Trip To Bolgatanga LP is scheduled for July 7 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “A Bad Attitude” and “Microdosing” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Photo: Jeff Pitcher