24 Hours in a Disco: 1978–82

Ghanaian keyboardist Kiki Gyan got his start in the early '70s as a member of the U.K.-based Afro-pop band Osibisa, but after leaving the group he recorded some excellent disco records under his own name and as the Twins and KG Band in the late '70s and early '80s. Soundway's collection 24 Hours in a Disco collects seven tracks that flow like the best disco of the era. Gyan proves himself a master of setting a mood stuck firmly on exuberant, creating grooves that are funky but smooth, as the songs percolate like sweet hot chocolate and inspire tired feet to get up and get moving. The best tracks, like "Disco Dancer" and "24 Hours in a Disco," are genius blends of dancefloor-ready disco and smooth African soul; the others aren't far behind. This collection feels short at only seven tracks, and hearing them once may lead you to track down his full albums (or at the very least hope that some enterprising label will get on the ball and reissue them). Gyan's life may have ended tragically -- he died at age 47 due to a drug overdose -- but the music he left behind is filled with joy and sunshine, and stands as some of the best disco made in Africa, or anywhere else. ~ Tim Sendra