SuperJazzClub: West Africa’s genre-bending wizards taking UK festivals by storm

For the past six decades, Ghana has held a National Festival of Arts and Culture that takes place biannually. Acting as a cultural collage of the country’s 16 regions, the event unifies Ghana’s music, traditions, and heritage – featuring everything from singing and dancing to atunpan drum ensembles. The festival highlights the country’s rich cultural diaspora by merging its art forms. The spirit of the festival rumbles through ‘Monchorome Radio’, the latest project from Accra’s rising collective SuperJazzClub.

“Our sound typically is fusion,” group member Ansah Live explains. “It’s us taking different elements from different places, like bossa nova, hip-hop, Afrobeat, R&B, jazz, and trying to fit them together in a way that makes sense for us.”

Inspired by seminal West African musicians like M.anifest, beat-makers Jay Q, Da’Hammer, and PAQ, as well as Western contemporaries Sampha and Pharrell Williams, the collective represents the polished, playful pulse of Accra’s emerging music sphere. Featuring artists, producers, filmmakers, and DJs alike, the group aims to break the boundaries of linear creativity.

The group’s mission statement was their debut single ‘Couple Black Kids’ – an Øbed-produced orchestral jam loaded with crisp jazz flourishes and spoonfuls of charisma. Their debut EP ‘For All the Good Times’ landed in September 2020, and traversed hip-hop breaks and melancholic funk, binding each passage together with smooth interludes.

Following recent performances at RecessLand and Cross the Tracks, the group have dropped ‘Monochrome Radio’. The EP juxtaposes themes of karma and danger on the  swampy ‘911’ with the lush, party grooves of ‘Loose’. NME sat down with the group on a balmy Thursday afternoon in south-east London to learn more about their journey so far.

NME: Where should a new listener start with your discography?

Joeyturks: “You can start with ‘Monochrome Radio’, which is the updated version of where we’re at right now, or you could start with our first song, ‘Couple Black Kids.’ That song introduces the collective with a message saying, ‘Yo, these are the cool kids from Ghana.’ It’s a great starting point to get to know us.” 

Tano: “We’ve evolved into a more versatile collective, but we still hold true to our roots from when ‘Couple Black Kids’ was released. Recently, we’ve been broadening our sound. ‘Couple Black Kids’ isn’t a major departure from where we are now. Records like ‘Bordeaux,’ ‘Too Early,’ and ‘MAD’ capture specific moments in our lives at that time. It’s cool to look back on.”

You’ve described your sound as Afro-fusion. Is your experimental style deliberate or has it evolved naturally over time?

Ansah: “I’d say that it’s both. Naturally, it just comes off that way because we grew up listening to different things and have different preferences. So, six different ideas and backgrounds come together once we’re in the studio. Naturally, when we go to make a song, it shows in that manner, even without consciously trying to do so.

“As we lay out the idea, certain aspects become more conscious decisions. We ask ourselves, ‘Do we want to keep this rap here? Should we add more singing? Should this sound more R&B or more Afro?’ So, I would say it’s a blend of organic influences and conscious decisions.”

How does your output align with the diverse musical landscape of Ghana?

BiQo: “Yeah, Pat Thomas, the Ghanaian singer, is a big influence. You know, it’s not just about the music – it’s about the journey, the discipline, and the idea of sustaining a career. It’s inspiring to see how artists before us have created long-lasting sounds. That’s what we’re trying to do.

“I’m happy you asked that because sometimes people don’t know much about the history of Ghanaian music and the artists who paved the way. Some of the bigger artists before us have been around for 30–40 years, and their music has crossed over. So, those are some of the people we look up to.”

How did that ethos lend itself to the sound and vibe of ‘Monochrome Radio’?

Ansah: “We listened to a lot of timeless artists and people we looked up to. Again, not just for direct inspiration. Sometimes just to understand them better. I love Pharrell and Sampha a lot. I admire Brian Eno because he mastered rock, country, and ambient music. We’d like to think our sound naturally brings in diverse influences, too.”

In what way is ‘Monochrome Radio’ a progression from ‘ACT’ singles trilogy and your ‘For All the Good Times’ EP?

Joeyturks: “The older projects don’t compare, ‘Monochrome Radio’ is a step up in quality.”

Ansah: “On the first project, there was some bossa nova stuff, some very slow ambience, jungle stuff, and Afrobeat, too. ‘Monochrome Radio’ is basically an improved, refined version of ‘For All the Good Times’. The songwriting is better this time around. It’s a fusion of old Ghanaian classics and songs from around the world that we like. There are some more UK influences here, too. We got to work with BenjiFlow, he was great, and we were mutual fans of each other. We did a couple of tracks, but ‘UNO’ was the one for us.”

BiQo: “‘For All the Good Times’ was more like Jordan in his rookie year: just super excited to put yourself out there. Now, with ‘Monochrome Radio’ we feel like the ’96 Chicago Bulls [laughs].”

Tano: “I think we were more challenged this time around, creatively. Some ideas – well one song – took longer to form than the others. Everybody knows which song was the most difficult to make [group laughter]. ‘OFF’ was definitely the hardest to finish. Yeah, that was the first record we started, and it was the last one to finish. It was the first we began and the last we completed.”

Let’s talk about your latest single ‘911’. How did that song come about?

Øbed: “Yeah, ‘911’ came together really well. I think Ansah made the drums and then sent them my way. I went over to his house, and he played it. I put it into Ableton, then started browsing for some chords and stumbled upon those chords. We both played them and thought, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ So, I laid that down, and that’s it.”

Seyyoh: “I believe we were at Vibrate Studios the day we made that track, experimenting with new ideas. Whenever there’s a beat or a demo, we all take turns on the mic, sharing any melodic concepts or song ideas. So, I laid down my ideas, and others did the same, building on top of the last idea.”

Is navigating egos and creative tension as a six-piece ever challenging?

Seyyoh: “I think we always find a balance. It’s a collective effort, and because there’s six of us, any one of could disagree, or think their concept is better. But we always work it out fairly.”

Joeyturks: Some of us are particularly good with visuals, but everyone still contributes to the sonic world of SuperJazzClub in some shape or form. No one is limited. If your strength is visuals, it doesn’t stop you from starting an idea or making sounds yourself. You can approach anyone with a new concept. I’m a producer, but that doesn’t stop me from creating a cool visual treatment, too. It all starts with a conversation. We’re free.”

SuperJazzClub’s ‘Monochrome Radio’ EP is out now

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