“The album would make any audiophile’s sound system sing, but also creates a vibe you could happily blast from a phone in the corner of the kitchen. The tunes are laid back, the band are locked-in, and the album is well worth checking out” Songlines
“A groovy blend of traditional West African and highlife rhythms infused with classic jazz and soul touchpoints that’s all complemented beautifully by Owusu’s vocal” KEXP
“a groovy blend of traditional West African and highlife rhythms infused with classic jazz and soul touchpoints that’s all complemented beautifully by Owusu’s vocal” Spectrum Culture
“A wonderful album full of warm, sinuous West African grooves and a deep-rooted soulfulness that really hits the spot” Ban Ton Ton
“It’s a song (Mokole) that has a subtle strength and gentle freshness” Backseat Mafia “This Jembaa Groove is very good!” Coco Maria (Worldwide FM)
“Pure beauty” Laurent Garnier
“Another great release once again” Ludovic Lorca (Mokole)
“Great album, will present it on ORF” Marcus Wagner Lapierre (Orf FM)
DJ support from (UK unless stated): Cerys Matthews (BBC 6 Music), Lopa Kothari (BBC Radio 3), Mr. Scruff (Worldwide FM & NTS), Derek Mazzone (KEXP), Aaron Byrd (KCRW), Laani, Coco Maria, Papaoul, Thristian (Worldwide FM), FIP, Rinse FM playlist, Laurent Garnier (FR), Oliver Depris (RTBF, BE), Chris Heim (KMUW), Reuben Green & Sarah Ward (Jazz FM), Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM, BBC2)
‘Jazzy Afro-Soul Music – Ghana’s Highlife going by the heartbeat of 70s Soul Music’
Jembaa Groove is a Berlin based Afro-Soul group founded in late 2020 by Yannick Nolting (Bass, Composer, Producer) and Eric Owusu (vocals, percussion, songwriter). They first met fortuitously at a playground in Berlin early 2020 whilst collecting their young sons from kindergarden and soon after realised they were onto something special. Speaking the same musical language, the two musical nomads quickly realized the fruitful outcome of their musical encounter. Digging deep into both their backgrounds and musical identities, they came up with a new and yet authentic vibe ready to be spread across the world. After seeking for the right companions for the upcoming journey and stumbling on a few of Berlin’s finest musicians, they finally formed Jembaa Groove, a 7-piece band that combines jazzy sounds from Berlin’s uprising underground music scene with traditional West-African sounds from Ghana and Mali, such as Highlife, Adowa and Wassoulou.
The music of Jembaa Groove is as much influenced by the soulful rhythms and baritone chords of 70’s black America and contemporary artists like Lee Fields and Ikebe Shakedown, as it is by highlife artists such as Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas, with whom Eric has been touring and recording for many years.
Garnering a smattering of support from the media world like KEXP, KCRW, Worldwide FM, Rinse FM,WDR Cosmo and enough stations round the world off the back of their “Bassa Bassa” track, Jembaa Groove are causing a storm with their hybrid West African meets US soul & jazz sound.
Line-up:
Eric Owusu (Ghana) – Vocals/Percussion
Yannick Nolting (Germany) – Bass/Bandleader
Moses Yoofee Vester (Germany/Ghana) – Keys
Babatunde Agonglo (Benin) – Guitar
Nir Sabag (Israel) – Drums
Merav Goldman Isreal) – Horn
Goncalo Mortagua (Portugal) – Sax
