Don’t adulterate folklore songs – Edem advises 

Edem, born Denning Edem Hotor, Volta Regime Music Group (VRMG) Boss has advised against adulteration of folklore songs to preserve the history behind them. 

He said folklore song -made and handed down among common people – a key part of music, which in turn is a key part of culture, is a way of storing culture and rich values of people thus, must be maintained. 

The award-winning artist gave the advice when the Ghana News Agency caught up with him at the 2022 Hogbetsotsoza durbar of the chiefs and people of the 36 states of Anlo at Anloga. 

“Our folkore songs cast in time, stories that remind us of events from a certain point in time.  

When you sing a song like ‘Aklie doa goka me…,’ it’s a story of the migration of the Ewes.  

“And so music in itself has a way of storing culture and stories of rich values that we have as a people. 

 ”And as I’m using this platform, I’m also trying to tell people that because of that, don’t just take folkore songs and turn them into either a Christian or any song because when we do that, it loses the story of what our fathers stored in the music as a message that would remind us of who we are.” 

Edem said there was the need for artistes to incorporate the contemporary style of music into the local or traditional music of their people to continue to make it live on as a music artform which “is a part of our rich cultural heritage”. 

The modern day champion of Ewe music at both national and international stages disclosed that most of his urban songs were inspired by a style of drum in the Volta Region known as “kinka.”  

Edem who uniquely made Ghana fall in love with him through the use of Ewe language, rhythmic quality and depth of lyrics of songs on his debut album, Volta Regime released in 2019, advised the youth to be frugal and have backyard gardens to enable them withstand the economic hardship currently being experienced in the country.