Podcast: Remembering Ghana's visionary music producer

You’ve heard of Highlife greats such as CK Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas but what do you know about the producer behind some of their hit songs?

Dick Essilfie-Bondzie © Essiebons

Inspired by his love of music, Essilfie-Bondzie left his job in government to devote his time to producing music under the Essiebons label. And as a result, he helped to shape the music that many love today.

 Dick Essilfie-Bondzie and his father at the Phillips HQ in the Netherlands © Essiebons

Essilfie-Bondzie helped to formalise arrangement for music gigs and partnered with the Dutch electronics business Phillips to bring the pressing of vinyl records to Ghana. Essilfie-Bondzie's factory was established in 1969.

Essilfie-Bondzie also created a music festival in 1978 celebrating Ghana's music legacy - past and present.

Dick Essilfie-Bondzie at the launch of his 1978 music show: 'Roots to Fruits' © Essiebons

In this the first of a two-part interview, we speak with the family of the late Essilfie-Bondzie about plans to develop a new documentary about the music producer and work to create a digital archive of all the music under the Essiebons label.

Listen to our podcast episode - part 1

Listen to our podcast episode - part 2

Watch the original Roots to Fruits documentary

Listen to Essiebons Special (1973-1984) a compilation of some of the label's rare tracks by Analog Africa. The album was released just after Essilfie-Bondzie passed on in 2021 at the age of 90.

Listen to more of our podcasts here.