The Rise of Music Collectives In Ghana [@99PHACES]

A new music collective in town goes by the name 99PHACES. According to them, they had stories to tell, so they made a tape.

From boybands to pop groups, the phenomenon of the music collective is not as alien as music lovers would like it to be. For several reasons, music collectives carry so much power when expressing voices and tones, and magic is guaranteed to occur when like-minded acts converge. 

Such a thought has existed exclusively in select parts of the modern world, with bands like The Beatles, Westlife, and many more making a splash in our time, present, and previous generations. As more traditional bands fade away, what we have is music collectives.

However, fixating back on the Ghanaian motherland, a variety of acts have seen the need for creative unison, joining forces, and pushing meaningful art out into the world. 

With these people and with these forces comes the power of Ghanaian music collectives, winning hearts with their eclectic sounds and different variants of expression that, in a very weird but pristine way, melt together rather beautifully.

Collectives like La Meme Gang and Superjazzclub are proof enough of the fact that Ghanaians have been placing their own unique spin on music and what it entails for a while, most especially when there is a combination and culmination of minds. Music that can neither be isolated by labels or genres are birthed from the seamless thought process of music collectives. Their successes shows that there is room for more of such endeavors.

There are things that collaborations cannot do. Some emotions cannot be employed as seamlessly as the convergence of music talents, all with their independent tastes and representation, coming together to raze the music scene. The aforementioned acts serve as examples of such a point since the innate zeal to create in unison have the potency to overpower all and establish greatness. 

The music collective meter in Ghana has been elevated tenfold thanks to the resurgence of such acts in our time and a new school of collectives such as All My Cousins and the latest addition, “99PHACES,” because all of a sudden, the difference is being sought after to inspire a common theme or message. The climate calls for such a uniqueness. In the schematics of Ghanaian music collectives, the only way such identity can be achieved lies in unison.

Accra has a new collective in town, and it goes by the name 99PHACES. Born out of the need to share their sound and message, 99PHACES came to be. Made up of Cozypols, Moffy, Freddie Gambini, Mēl, and Insvne Auggie, the collective is hopeful that their collective approach to music can inspire other creators to come together to push through and break the barriers.

With that in mind, this new collective made itself known by releasing a project after its conception. After the positive reception of their first single, Kiddie Time, Ghanaian music collective 99 PHACES released their first EP. The project, unconventionally titled “SO WE MADE A TAPE,” was released on March 17th, 2023, to much praise. 

99PHACES: A single voice can easily be drowned out, but a choir of passionate creatives cannot be silenced for too long, so we made a tape.

SWMAT is a tape with a little bit of something for everyone. Afrobeats, Alte and Hip-hop, are elements that make up the project’s sound. Just as the artists involved in the project; Freddie Gambini, Moffy, CozyPols, Mēl, Insvne Auggie, and the sole non-member featured artiste Baaba J, have diverse influences and sounds, the songs reflect precisely that.

99 PHACES is treading the path of the Ghanaian musicians before them since collaboration has always been the backbone of Ghana’s music culture and renaissance. This is how Ghanaian music, from groups to solo acts, works with others of the same ilk. And 99 PHACES and Baaba J on this project look to inspire this level of collaboration and high standards.
So, don’t be moved when people suddenly receive the urge to come forth and make art in music together. It’s been a preexisting notion in creativity and life that one can only go far when collaborating is at the center of everything. Such a school of thought effortlessly lingers in the fast-paced expanses of music in the world, but most especially in Ghana.
With a million stories to be told through the most moving sounds and with the brains and hearts ready and willing to weave such stories together, we need not wait for the resurgence of music collectives in Ghana to take off. The resurgence is here and now, and all shall continue to bask in the glory of such deep, music-saturated bliss.

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