Ghanaian highlife legend, Kaakyire Kwame Appiah, has disclosed what late German producer Bodo Staiger told him about music producers based in Ghana.
At one point circa 1980s to the early 2000s, most of the top musicians in Ghana, such as Daddy Lumba, Nana Acheampong, Tagoe Sisters, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Ofori Amponsah, Oheneba Kissi, Hannah Marfo and others travelled to Germany to master their songs.
After curating their albums here in Ghana, they travelled to Germany to have a Bodo Staiger’s magic touch – one that all of them confirm was different from what Ghanaian producers did.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Work and Happiness show, the “Bronya” hitmaker said Bodo Staiger tagged Ghanaian producers as lazy.
Kaakyire, however, explained the renowned sound musician acknowledged producers based in Ghana at that time didn’t want to upgrade their skills, hence they made the same mistakes during production.
The music act, now enstooled as “Benkumhene” of Bosomtwe Asaman, Kokofu in the Ashanti Region, said the Ghanaian sound was too “loud” compared to the “soft touch” that Bodo compiled.
“Bodo was saying most of Ghana engineers don’t like to learn. His touches made the song soft, and in Ghana, there was a trending loud sound… we had to book 30 days ahead to get his studio session,” he said.
In 1988, Bodo Staiger founded Rheinklang Studios in Düsseldorf, where he recorded and mastered most Highlife songs composed by Ghanaian highlife musicians.
He died of cardiac arrest at his home in Düsseldorf on 4th December 2019. Most Ghanaian musicians paid tributes to him for his contribution to the music industry.
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