In the 1980’s, I studied Ghanaian drumming with Kwesi Asere for a few years and he was an inspirational figure for me in many ways. I went to his house occasionally, played in his traditional hi-life band and borrowed his musicians for my first percussion band, Inner Sense. When I moved away from Manchester, I lost touch with him but thought about him from time to time. I found his son on MySpace (remember that?) and was heartened to learn from him that Kwesi had moved back to Ghana to be with his family and eventually died and had a proper traditional funeral in the village of his childhood. My playing and teaching are still shaped around his influence and I’m indebted to him. It was satisfying to know that he had come full-circle and had been able to return to his roots.