Adesa

Adesa is a Germany-based Ghanaian ensemble, specialised in music programmes for children and families. They blend mystical stories with intriguing rhythms and melodic songs, which create a fascinating contrast to the ensemble’s performance with stunning acrobatics. The members of the group Adesa belong to the Ga people, a minority living in the surroundings of Accra.
It was in Kaneshei, the Ghanaian capital’s famous market place that gave birth of the ensemble 25 years ago: Korkoi Odametey, female dancer from the royal family of the Ga Mantse and active member of the Tigari cult met with the German composer and musician Nii Ayi Conen. Today the next generation of the Odametey family has joined in their successful productions, giving new musical impulses. Adesa’s artistic point of departure has been the court music of the Ga, a culture steeped in historic rituals that they aim to preserve, but also to further develop by bringing it together with other musical styles and new sounds. Experimenting with popular Ghanaian musical styles, they have developed a range of programmes that open the children’s ears and eyes to the world of myths, legends and fairy tales many facets of West African culture.