Jembaa Groove - Susuma [Agogo Records]

Afro-soul music with a jazzy twist: Ghanaian highlife to the beat of 70s soul.

Jembaa Groove is an afro-soul band based in Berlin, founded in late 2020 by Yannick Nolting (bass, composer, producer) and Eric Owusu (vocals, percussion, composer). They met by chance in early 2020 at a Berlin playground while picking up their kids from kindergarten, and shortly after realized that there was something special between them. Speaking the same musical language, these two sonic nomads quickly understood the potential of their encounter. Delving into their origins and musical identities, they found a new yet authentic sound, ready to spread across the globe. After searching for the right travel companions and meeting some of Berlin’s finest musicians, they finally formed Jembaa Groove, a seven-piece band that combines jazzy sounds from Berlin's burgeoning underground scene with West African traditions from Ghana and Mali such as highlife, adowa and wassoulou.

Jembaa Groove's music is as much influenced by the soulful rhythms and deep baritone chords of 70s American afro-soul, and contemporary artists such as Lee Fields and Ikebe Shakedown, as it is by highlife figures like Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas, with whom Eric has toured and recorded for many years. Having received support from media outlets such as KEXP, KCRW, Worldwide FM, Rinse FM, and WDR Cosmo, as well as numerous stations worldwide thanks to their track Bassa Bassa, Jembaa Groove is making waves with their hybrid sound that unites West Africa with American soul and jazz.