Mantse So-le, F. Gee and Lyff Angels, make up the group Kla-la. Their name is a Ga expression meaning white cloth and the trio often wear white on stage. The colour, in Mantse So-le’s view, symbolises the victory they have won over very challenging situations since they met in a studio in Accra and decided to work together in 2005.
They believe that there is a force behind every name and everyone acknowledges the good omen white is supposed to signify in our society. They had nobody to rely on and the going was tough but they persisted and brought out their first album, Nye He Ye Feo.
The young men were solo artistes working on individual projects from the same studio at Osu in Accra. The 2005 Nescafe African Revelation contest was coming up and the resident engineer, having heard all the three artistes, advised them to pull their talents together and try their luck.
They lost out to Praye but resolved to push on as a group. They have appeared on TV3’s Music Music and Looking For Love programmes, Maame Dokono’s show on Metro TV as well at functions at La Beach, the National Theatre, Takoradi Polytechnic and other venues. All three contributed material to the Nye He Ye Feo (meaning ‘You Are Beautiful’ in Ga) album which was recorded by Sugartone. There is a video of the track on television which has helped bring the group to better public attention.
The song, with a driving, danceable ‘jama’ beat, has been hailed in several quarters for its positive message against domestic violence. Apart from its noteworthy theme, Nye He Ye Feo also demonstrates a solid grasp of Ga usage by the trio. Bits of Ewe and Twi are thrown into the song but a greater part is rendered in glittering Ga to evoke a load of varying mental imagery.
Kla-la appreciates the music of people like Lucky Dube, Amandzeba, Kojo Antwi and Bob Marley but they are quick to stress that they are charting their own course in terms of compositional style and hope to win many hearts in this country and elsewhere with their effort. They explore their own cultures, bringing in other elements to give their songs a broad appeal.