Tuesday, 29 July

‘Odo Yewu’: FRA! gives fan favourite Reggae refresh, secure genre star Epixode as guest

Entertainment
A screenshot of a scene from FRA!'s Odo Yewu visualiser

The band FRA! is currently on tour in Europe but while the Highlife/Funk star entertains the world, it has revealed plans to drop a Reggae version of their fan-favourite Odo Yewu.

The Highlife song captures a man promising his woman they would be one forever, and is part of 13 songs on the Chale Wote album of 2023 – a piece which is ravenously enjoyed and sang by fans whenever performed live.

Creating Odo Yewu

In an exclusive interview with Class News’ Prince Benjamin (PB), Joshua ‘Virgen’ Boateng (JVB), who led the tune’s composition, said the reception Odo Yewu perpetually received among local and international audiences was no surprise to him, being reminiscent of what he felt when the song was only an idea in his mind.   

“Odo Yewu, my favorite FRA! song, is really special to me. I remember sound checking for a gig when I suddenly heard this chorus, “Ah, odo yewu,” in my head. It was so clear and loud, it felt like the crowd was actually singing it. Right away, I went to the piano and called Chris[tian Agyei Prempeh] to record me while I played and sang. Later that day, we went home and worked on the verses together. It’s no surprise that every time we perform it, the audience loves it and they sing it exactly how I first heard it in my head,” the well-known drummer explained.

Reimagining Odo Yewu

He revealed not only was the song switching genres, it was to be released with a verse from multiple award-winning Reggae artiste Epixode. He added, this move was a clear signal of other exciting developments ahead.

“We’re at a point where we want to remake some of our old tunes and experiment with new sounds. Odo Yewu happens to be one of them. We tried a Reggae version and to our surprise, it worked really well. We’re featuring Epixode on it. So wait for it!” Virgen enthusiastically announced.

| Atia hitmaker Epixode 

With this upcoming Odo Yewu (Reggae), the Delicious Tunes signee, FRA!, seems to invert a move by Epixode. In October 2022, Epixode released a Reggae tune titled Atia. Not long after, he offered a Highlife version which went viral, sparking a challenge, and later received a verse from Highlife legend Kwabena Kwabena.

Additionally, Virgen indicated Odo Yewu (Reggae) “was recorded in Munich (Germany)” as the band toured.

While he happily volunteered all this information, he held back the exact release date, assuring, however, it was “soon”.

Below is a snippet of what fans can expect, to ease the wait.

Source: classfmonline.com