In the early 1980s, frustrated by growing repression, restrictions on nightlife, and high import taxes on instruments, Ghanaian musicians began emigrating to Europe. Many of them ended up in Western Germany, where they experimented with the latest musical technologies, mixing highlife music with the disco and boogie sounds of the era. Upon returning to Ghana they were called “bürgers,” the German word for citizen, and their music would forever be known as “burger highlife”. Kalita Records’ compilation is the first of four to highlight the burger highlife sound, bringing together tracks by superstars like Thomas Frempong and George Darko (who many say pioneered the genre) and by more elusive artists like Uncle Joe’s Afri-Beat and Paa Jude.