Osibisa unveil their first new material since 2009, with their highly anticipated new album, ‘New Dawn’, released on 23 April 2021. The album comes at the most poignant time in Osibisa’s history, marking exactly 45 years since their debut UK chart hit with ‘Sunshine Day’ in 1976. It’s also half a century since these icons of global music, became the first ever black band to break The Marquee Club, at that historic live gig in June 1971. 50 years on, and they’re now the first signing to the new Marquee Record label - history in the making! It’s a New Dawn…

On this 1980 album, Osibisa drifted yet further toward an R&B dance-pop direction than they had on their previous studio record, Ojah Awake. Of course they weren't alone among popular recording artists in making concessions to disco during this era, and they didn't bury their African roots. It was still a somewhat dispiriting trend, and while much of the band's characteristic blend of African and Western influences remained intact, the songs – all of them around five minutes long, and relying on grooves more than content – were kind of blah. "Celebration" is about as close to a conventional soul-funk-disco track as the band got, and seems more like an Earth, Wind & Fire outing than an Osibisa one. At other points, the elements get more eclectic, creative, and (by Western pop standards) exotic; "Africa We GoGo" is reasonably convincing Africanized funk.

Osibisa, the West African high-life band from Ghana, waxed their first LP in 1971 and continues to spit them out. Their longevity can be attributed to a vibrant sound and the ability to inject humor into music. They don't allow themselves to become mired in social issues as did the short-lived but often brilliant Cymande, whose LPs were essentially political statements. Osibisa's only agenda is making good music, and if it happens to strike a political or social nerve, fine, but it's not what they're totally about. "Wango Wango" starts slow but evolves into a wicked jam that's heavy as P-Funk. Pleasant flute and trumpet riffs accent the lovely "So So MI La So." The bands' tribute to America, the floating "Sweet America," teases and tantalizes. Percussion heads will appreciate "Ye Tie Wo" and "Che Che Kule." The deepest slabs of social commentary are the thought-provoking "Sweet Sounds" and "Did You Know." All tracks were written by all or various members of Osibisa, who share production credit with John Punter.

Osibisa's second album 'Woyaya' would see the Afro-prog pioneers expand their sound to include more overtly jazzy overtones whilst also turning down the party atmosphere in favour of a more sedate and psychedelic feel. Again, guitarist Wendell Richardson and group leader, founder and saxophonist Teddy Osei are the dominant forces, but this time around the group's uplifting pallette of sounds features a more complex lilt that places 'Woyaya' much closer to the sounds of progressive rock. More thoughtful than their self-titled debut, 'Wowoya' is a complex and impressive album filled with dazzling instrumentation and a rich tapestry of African, Carribean and Western sounds and ideas that shows a band developing rapidly over a very short space of time. Fans of the group claim that this is their best album and it is hard to disagree.