Epixode (3r left) in a pose with members of his Blackboys Band
His recently-released ‘Atia’ song and the equally sparkling versions he has so far put out of the original piece have further bolstered Theophilus Nii Arday Otoo, better known as Epixode’s reputation on the music scene.
Now the young hardworking musician is set to travel between September 20 and October 5 to Munich, Germany, with his Blackboys Band to record a couple more live versions of the hit.
He hopes to release the different takes of ‘Atia’ on an EP by late October as a forerunner to a new album scheduled to come out by the first half of 2023. Some new tracks for the upcoming album would also be recorded during the German trip.
Epixode initially came out with ‘Atia’ as a reggae piece with him alone on vocals. He then teamed up with the all-female Lipstick band for another reggae rendition, which was followed with a highlife take featuring Kwabena Kwabena. He brought on flutist Dela Botri and singer Abiana for what he described as a folk version, and is now targeting new renditions in styles such as Jazz and Calypso.
“I think I have a blueprint now to how I want to treat my songs. Sometimes I feel people are unnecessarily limited to only one genre in which a particular song is played. Looking at the numbers now in terms of streaming, views and other data, the highlife version is currently bigger than the Reggae I did,” says Epixode.
“So doing the different takes is just a way of trying to experiment on how I can expand the type of songs I do. It’s quite a new approach and I don’t want to be pigeonholed as just a Reggae or Dancehall musician. I see myself simply as a musician.”
Epixode has a competent support team which include Babiee Dappah (Manager), Edmund Baffour Awuah (Road Manager) and Gomez Tito Marshall (Producer) on the German trip, which is being organised by Epixodemusic and the Very Good Bad Boys outfit, to create music that resonates with listeners everywhere.
“I’m not necessarily doing music that people will just dance and jump to. If music can touch lives and if in 2022 we still listen to Bob Marley and other legends, it means in decades to come, there should be Epixode songs which can make positive contributions to people’s lives. That is one of the ultimate goals I look forward to,” Epixode stated.
By George Clifford Owusu