Vintage Ata Kak, circa the Ghanaian dance-rap artist’s 1990s heyday. Courtesy of the artist
This month, adventurous music heads in Seattle have the chance to see an experimental guitarist from Bhutan (Tashi Dorji) and a quirky rapper/singer from Ghana (Ata Kak). I hope you realize how good we have it here sometimes.
First, let’s talk about Dorji. But before that, a little prologue: In 1991, a tiny American indie label released a compilation titled Guitarrorists, featuring Sonic Boom, Helios Creed, Kim Gordon, Steve Albini, and more. It encompassed dozens of guitar players doing myriad interesting things with an instrument that’s most associated with rock music.