No Problem Saloon (Deluxe Version)

As the Berlin-based duo OY, Swiss-Ghanian vocalist Joy Frempong and drummer/producer Lleluja-Ha create soundscapes that take African musical traditions into unexpected places. The pair’s sophomore album, No Problem Saloon, draws on the stories and sounds Frempong collected during travels in Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and South Africa. The result is a fascinating series of sonic postcards from exotic locales that creatively blend live percussion with electronica textures and samples. Frempong elegantly slides between singing and narration as she tells folk tales (“Doondari,” “No, I Don’t Snore”), celebrates Afros and dreadlocks (“Hallelujah! Hair!"), recreates a Johannesburg traffic jam (“Tortoise and Hunter”), and embraces life’s rich possibilities (“My Name Is Happy”). The album’s music is subtle, evocative, and frequently ingenious, veering from the techno-tribal beat of “Akwaaba” and the jazzy simmer of “Funny I” to the moody Middle Eastern ambiance of “Millionaire in Beggar’s Wear” and the primal chant rhythms of “Don’t Run Run.” The songs have compelling political and spiritual overtones, all framed within a personal travelogue that’s both intimate and expansive.