Oroko Radio, A Community Radio Station Is Launching In Ghana
Coming soon
Over the past few years, Ghana has established itself as a cultural hotspot in West Africa. Renowned for its rich history of culture and music, it’s become an important player in the creative scene particularly with 2019’s Year of Return initiative. The creative landscape is indeed thriving however, it lacks structures for collaboration and sparking conversations.
Cue in Oroko Radio, an online community radio station that aims to provide a platform for Ghanaian, African and diasporic voices to be heard, in their very own words. Formed out of the unlikely friendship forged by co-founders and creative professionals Truseye, Kikelomo, Nico Adomako and Naëmi Ada, the new radio station will amplify emerging talent outside of the mainstream as well as develop a community that enriches the global cultural landscape.
Oroko Radio was born out of a need to tell our stories by members of the African and Diasporic creative communities. It’s title stems from an alternative spelling of the Yoruba word, Àrokò, an ancient pre-colonial West African method of non-verbal communication through everyday items. It is distinctly rooted in West African culture and aims to provide an accurate representation of youth culture in Ghana and Africa.
It was initially a recipient of the Creativity Pioneers Support Fund from the Moleskine foundation which kickstarted and funded the idea to bring it to life. Set to launch at the end of December with a series of workshops, panels and pop-ups, the radio station will involve Ghanaian talent such as SuperJazzClub, TMSKD DJ and Accra-LA native, Blaq Pages. It will also include other African and international talent such as Sensei Lo, Tommy Wà and Kenyan organisation, Santuri.
Speaking about Oroko, co-founder Kikelomo shared that:
“Radio plays a key role in music innovation throughout history – Genres like hip hop, grime, garage, drill and many more would not exist without it. Radio provides another medium for independent artists to grow, without the nepotism or money typically needed to access major labels.”
Co-founder Nico also added:
“Throughout the history of the continent, music has always been a tool to communicate. This is what Oroko wants to build upon. We are aiming to set up a platform that amplifies and connects independent artists from all over Africa and the Diaspora, a platform from which we can share our stories, visions, and experiences to tackle the issues we care about.”
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The radio station will also be partnering with Pioneer DJ which will provide club-standard DJ equipment and DJ controllers for the workshops set to take place later this year. Pioneer DJ Marketing Executive, Steve Briandt, shared that: “Our whole team is excited to be involved in this fantastic project, which promises so much. Not only is Oroko Radio going to unearth new talent and amazing music from around the world, but it will also encourage people to join in conversations that will hopefully kick-start positive changes in local and international societies.”
Alongside this, Pioneer DJ, Oroko Radio and the NATIVE Magazine will be running a giveaway next week. Keep your eyes peeled on our accounts for more information.
You can learn more about Oroko radio here.
