ARCHIVE

Music for the Masses: Highlife House Party (Audio)

Mar 07, 2023

Ghana Independence Day celebration: On March 6, 1957, the West African republic of Ghana gained its independence from British colonial rule. With its roots in the Gold Coast region (Anglophone West Africa), Highlife music became the expression of a black internationalist movement and pan-African consciousness that drove the independence movements across the motherland and throughout the diaspora. In this broadcast we celebrate the occasion with a house party featuring old-school highlife favorites from the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

"Music for the Masses" invites you on an excursion of sound and rhythm. Discover the music of established and emerging artists, both signed and unsigned, on the international music scene. For the avid globe-hopper and armchair traveler alike. You might want to pack a map and a sandwich. Catskill resident "DJ Neva" is an ethnomusicologist, producer, and long-time cultural activist, specializing in music from the entire African continent, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America, the Maghreb and Middle East, and the Roma (Gypsy) diaspora. Formerly the producer of "Continental Drift" on WBAI-FM and New York International on Haitian community station Radio Soleil in NYC. The show is broadcast live from Catskill, NY.

Playlists and more information here.

Selection of original DJ mixes here.