Elivava Launches Album At Goethe

Singer Elivava will launch her maiden album, I Live 4ever, with a concert at the Goethe-Institut in Accra tomorrow Friday, November 7 at 7.30pm.

The energetic singer's 10-track album is a captivating fusion of soca, funk, afro-rock, highlife and a mixture of styles that defy easy categorisation.

The songs are all effectively complemented with indigenous African instruments, thereby creating a unique sound that has all the elements of the world music phenomenon.

She wrote all but two of the songs on the I Live 4ever album and arranged the material with the help of experienced colleagues like Bessa Simmons, Johnny Fingers and David Kewa. Her lyrics are in Ga, Twi, Ewe, English, French and German and touch on various aspects of social life.

Instrumentalists featured on the album include Kari Bannermam and Zapp Mallet on guitar, trumpeter Osei Tutu, bassist Gaultier, saxophonists Steve Mensah and Colonel Faat and violinist Kwame Thomas.

Starting off as a singer in the church, Elivava gradually wormed her way into the popular genres and became a sought-after backing singer.

She has over the last 10 years or so, performed on stage or recorded in the studio with musicians such as Denmark- based Afro Moses, Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji, Atongo Simba, Bessa Simons, Daddy Lumba, Orlando Julius, Amandzeba, Rex Omar, Ekow Alabi, Ekow Micah, Samini, Borax, Obrafour, Sidney and the late Terry Bonchaka.

With great vocal techniques and constantly willing to experiment, Elivava's album is the result of years of performance with the different acts which have served as important training ground.

“As an apprentice, you must graduate at some stage and be on your own. I have discovered what style of music appeals to me and how to approach it,” Elivava, who has performed to appreciative audiences in Gabon, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin said in an interview.

“My album is a gift to Ghanaians and all musicians.To all those I have backed, I want them to know it was a privilege and to thank them for the learning process.”

Hewale Sounds, led by the flute dynamo Dela Botri, will kick off Friday's function with some neo-traditional compositions.

The I Live 4ever launch is being supported by the Goethe-Institut.

Story by John Owoo