Seprewa kasa – “the seprewa speaks, the guitar answers” – is about as self-explanatory an album title as they come as the light and airy call of the Ghanaian five-string box harp-lute is answered by the delicate phrasing of veteran guitarist and Osibisa member Kari Bannerman (or Banaman, as his surname is spelt for the purposes of this release). Described as the soul of highlife, the seprewa was traditionally played as a solo instrument, but Kasa Baffour Kyerematen and Osei Korankye have tuned, teased and interwoven its style to produce a chatty, irrepressibly upbeat dual harmony that gives only the merest hint of the funkier genre to which it ultimately led. There's a bright, sunny feel to the seprewa, and although it has been described as a relative of the kora, it has more of the resonance of the lighter sound of the ngoni, and with Banaman's brisk acoustic (and occasionally electric) guitar fills, a lilting back-beat and high, satin-smooth vocals, this is understated but attractive music that seduces in a gentle, unfussy manner.World Music Network
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