In 2007, the Goethe-Institut Ghana wanted to contribute to Ghana’s 50th anniversary and also celebrate over 45 years of its existence in Ghana. In this context, the idea of celebrating Burger Highlife, this special music style born in Germany, arose. Burger Highlife illustrates how wonderful and inspiring inter-cultural cooperation can be. Thus, the project “Made in Germany” – A Celebration of Burger Highlife was born.
This creation of a Ghanaian-German cross-cultural fertilization between two nations and two different cultures bears all the significant hallmarks of co-operation. People from different cultural backgrounds came together, exchanged thoughts, ideas and hopes, and by doing so, they created something new and exciting that had an instant appeal and a lasting impact on Ghana and the Ghanaian and other communities worldwide. A whole subculture with its own fashion and way of life appeared. Some of the pioneers of Burger Highlife are George Darko, Lee Duodu, Rex Gyamfi and Charles Amoah, just to mention a few with hits like “Akoo ti brofo” and others.
“Made in Germany” – A Celebration of Burger Highlife brought the Burger Highlife greats of those times together for the first time in ages, some for the first time ever. But the objective of the project was not only to have a big concert and celebrate the old times for one evening, but also to bring back Burger Highlife in the minds of people and to encourage discussion on the current developments in the Ghanaian music scene and all its problems and flaws. Therefore the project comprised workshops, seminars and lectures. It all culminated in a grand finale concert in Accra on 21st April at the National Theatre and in Kumasi on the 28th April at the Cultural Centre.
Contribution to the Golden Jubilee
It was the official German contribution to the Golden Jubilee Year of Ghana and was made possible through the support of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin and many other private and public sponsors. A group of people worked on it for several months, some over years, and dedicated their time, energy and heart in this once in a lifetime project. This site is meant to be a documentation of the project, but also a source of information for music lovers and enthusiasts. We hope you will all enjoy visiting it!Historical Background
During the late 70’s, early 80’s, there was a massive exodus of Ghanaians to foreign lands. One of the countries that attracted Ghanaians was Germany, with many making the cities of Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg their second home. Burger Highlife was born when Ghanaian musicians in Germany started collaborating with German musicians and producers. They created a crossover music style from highlife, disco and funk music.This creation of a Ghanaian-German cross-cultural fertilization between two nations and two different cultures bears all the significant hallmarks of co-operation. People from different cultural backgrounds came together, exchanged thoughts, ideas and hopes, and by doing so, they created something new and exciting that had an instant appeal and a lasting impact on Ghana and the Ghanaian and other communities worldwide. A whole subculture with its own fashion and way of life appeared. Some of the pioneers of Burger Highlife are George Darko, Lee Duodu, Rex Gyamfi and Charles Amoah, just to mention a few with hits like “Akoo ti brofo” and others.
“Made in Germany” – A Celebration of Burger Highlife brought the Burger Highlife greats of those times together for the first time in ages, some for the first time ever. But the objective of the project was not only to have a big concert and celebrate the old times for one evening, but also to bring back Burger Highlife in the minds of people and to encourage discussion on the current developments in the Ghanaian music scene and all its problems and flaws. Therefore the project comprised workshops, seminars and lectures. It all culminated in a grand finale concert in Accra on 21st April at the National Theatre and in Kumasi on the 28th April at the Cultural Centre.
The greatest Burger Highlife event ever held
“Made in Germany” was the greatest burger highlife event ever held in either Germany or Ghana. It brought back the era and flavour of the Burger Highlife, its sounds, ideas and subculture. It had a lasting impact on the Ghanaian music scene and stirred a lot of discussion. Musicians and audience got reminded of the beauty of live music, which sadly almost disappeared in Ghana over the last years. Music lovers were thrilled to see musicians who mastered their instruments professionally, and listened to a perfect sound system.Apart from the musical pleasures, the questions raised during and after the academic debate inspired a lot of people and were the topic of many newspaper articles in the following days. Some of the problems that forced Ghanaian musicians in the 80ies to leave their country are still prevailing. Copyright issues and an insufficient distribution of infrastructure are still causing a lot of trouble to musicians. The famous Payola, which means the money some radio DJs are requesting for playing an artist’s song, is a serious annoyance to the musicians. To discuss these issues and bring them into public awareness was a big aim of the project, and the attendance at the lecture series and the media echo showed its successful realisation.
