The Psychedelic Aliens was the first of a handful of young Ghanaian Afro- Funk bands to record in the 1960’s, soon becoming one the hottest names in the Accra music scene. It soaked up influences from the band member’s experiences performing with some of the great Afro-Beat and Funk musicians of the time like a brand new mop. The band, also called ‘the Magic Aliens’, only recorded 8 songs, but the 8 little drops that dripped out of that mop were enough to make you want to ring out the whole mop and take a jug of the water home to pour into your iPod. The Alien’s bio accurately describes its influences as “Soul, garage rock, funk and psych that was built on African rhythms and melodies.” I’ll drink that funk all day, and you can too when their 8 tracks are released on October 26th by Academy LPS. Check out one little drop of the funky psycho African beat below, a track called Gbe Keke Wo Taoc.
3 Comments
I was 14 years old and attended the “Soul to Soul” event at Black Star Square(my first concert ever);made a huge impression on a youngster.I remember the Aliens being the hottest gig around in Ghana in ’71;would be very interesting if an extended “Soul to Soul” version featuring all the Ghaneans would someday emerge,this would be of tremendous historical value value,prehaps Ghana TV and radio broadcasting has some audio and video footage gathering dust in their vaults?
Regards,
Trond
Oslo,Norway
Wow Trond, that is so cool!! I am super jealous!! And what a great idea about the “Soul to Soul”. Thank you for the comment!!
Hey Trond, what great memories!
It’s a big shame that the Aliens and all the other Ghanaian acts weren’t included on the film. Who knows, maybe the footage still collects dust somewhere at MGM…
What is amazing is that Mike, the owner of the record label just told me that Carlos Santana who had shared the stage with the Aliens back then has contacted the label and asked for a copy of the CD!