Ghanaian musician, Edem has revealed how he employs indigenous rhythms from the Volta Region (where he comes from) into the composition of his pop music genres.
While globalization has eroded a lot of indigenous cultures across the world, there are some creatives who through fusions and experimentation, still want to retain what is original and traditional to their identity.
One such person is Edem Goget’em, a musician who has etched his name in the annals of Ghanaian music as creative and versatile with styles and genres. His style is so eclectic that he taps into reggae, dancehall, rap, highlife, and other Afro variants.
“When I go to my mother in the Volta Region and we go to the village and then I also have access to borborbor, kenka, agbese, agbadza, sogo, all the forms of music we have in the region, and then I also saw the synergy and I just married the two and AI tends to create. One of the examples of a kenka song which Magnom and I decided to do an EDM Afrobeat with it, is ‘Koene’,” he noted.
He revealed that they fused a pattern in “kenka” that sounds like a techno beat into the song. He also cited ‘Nyedzilo’ as having inspiration from “kenka”.
Highlighting how he derived the chorus for the song ‘Heyba’, he said the fisher folk along the coast in Keta and other places in the Volta Region, usually chant “ahooo eee, heeeeyba” while going fishing.
Although Edem noted that his creative process is inspired by artistry, there are times when his inclusion of rhythms from the Volta Region comes from the subconscious. According to him, these things are intrinsic, and they creep in any time he is doing his compositions.
Edem, however, indicated that his upbringing exposed him to different types of music like hip hop, reggae, highlife, and pop, among others; a reason he is able to switch between genres.
Edem has over the years been lauded for his in-depth knowledge of music and his unparalleled artistry.
After attending the Africa Nominee Brunch of the Grammy Awards in March this year in the United States of America, he linked up with American music producer Swizz Beatz in Los Angeles.
In his bid to network and build connections, he had a chat with the producers as they shared a lot of ideas about the music industry.
The Ghanaian musician who has collaborations with Efya, Sarkodie, Raquel, Sway, Kwaw Kese, Akwaboah, Kwabena Kwabena, Tinny, Rekaado Banks, M.I., among others, mostly does his songs in his native language Ewe, and in English, Patois, Twi, Pidgin English, or sometimes a potpourri of two or more of these languages.
Recounting An Award Scheme In Ghana
Ghanaian musician Edem Goget’em recounted how an award scheme in Ghana wanted him to perform for free for an award and a video shoot.
The ‘Toto’ singer revealed that because he declined the offer, he lost the slot to another artist.
“There was a year where an award scheme said I should come and do a free performance so that I would win an award and also alongside that they would shoot a video for me. I said ‘no’, and another artist won the award and they shot the video for him,” he said.
Although he declined to mention the name of the award scheme, he noted how elements in the music industry manipulate the system to favor themselves. “It is not my duty to use my platform to promote anybody,” he said.
He noted that while most Ghanaians may not revel in glories of their own, some people in other countries really appreciate Ghanaians who have excelled in their creative fields.
He mentioned how an American music producer told him he was so fond of legendary Ghanaian musician Ebo Taylor.
“I was having an open conversation with Swiss Beatz and he said Ebo Taylor was his favorite artiste in the world. He has even sampled Ebo Taylor’s songs in the ‘Godfather of Harlem’ series,” Edem mentioned.
Speaking about other things that draw the music industry back, the versatile Ghanaian musician said people in Ghanaian society are overly fond of comparing the great achievements of Ghanaian creatives to people outside, always trying to belittle what Ghanaian creatives do.
Edem is currently promoting his latest work ‘We Don’t Really Care’, a song that talks about individuals not fretting about what others think about them.
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