Biography
Hailing from a Ghanaian lineage steeped in percussion, Mustapha Tettey Addy emerged as the family's most celebrated figure. His father, a fetish priest, first guided him into the sacred disciplines of ritual drumming and dance. Following his father's death, Addy assumed the title "dadefoiakye" and took charge of the ritual drummers. During the 1960s he served as a full-time performer with the Ghana Dance Ensemble while holding an informal affiliation with the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. Journeys across West Africa in the early 1970s acquainted him with fresh approaches and methods that he later drew upon when founding the group Ehimono in 1974. He made several visits to Europe throughout the 1970s before returning in the 1980s, this time chiefly to teach. Celebrated for his mastery of elaborate, layered, and forceful rhythms, Addy produced the indispensable recordings Master Drummer Vol. 1 and Master Drummer Vol. 2 in the 1970s and 1980s, while his 1990 album Come and Drum, recorded with his son Abdul Rahman Kpany Addy and two German musicians, focuses on clarifying and dissecting demanding patterns without eroding the music's essential spirit.
Albums
