SK Kakraba Lobi is a Master Xylophonist from Ghana, the nephew of Master Xylophonist Kakraba Lobi. SK is a Master of the Gyil, which means that he is both an instrument maker and a virtuoso performer. The Gyil is the Ghanaian Xylophone, and the primary instrument of the Lobi, Sisala, and Dagara people of Nothern Ghana. It is constructed of 14 wooden slats suspended over calabash gourds that have been fitted with resonators. SK was an instructor of the gyil at the International Centre for African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana, but has recently moved to Los Angeles, CA. SK has performed at festivals in Europe and the Middle East, and he has toured West Africa and America.
YONYE is a collection of solo recordings made shortly after SK Kakraba’s relocation to America.
In his words:
“The songs on this album are Lobi traditional music from Ghana, but they are recorded here in California. The album is called ‘YONYE’ because I have traveled and seen different life, different things. The music is traditional songs, reacting to what I have seen here.”