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Friday, July 13, 2018

Fuse ODG Blends Reggaeton Flavour With Ghanaian Energy In The New Track ‘Island’

“Elevating audiences with sound and inspiring youth through action.” A  Nation of Billions..

After  becoming  the  first  Ghanaian to  win  a  Grammy earlier  this  year  for  his contributions  to  Ed  Sheeran’s  album,   Fuse  ODG is  back  with  a  bold  new  sound  on his  new  track   ‘Island’.

Inspired  by  hearing  Latin sounds  through  his  recent  travels,  ‘Island’  serves  up  a  cocktail  of  Fuse’s irrepressible  Ghanaian  energy  with  a  reggaeton flavour rich with energising rhythms and strident horns.  It’s  a  track  which  represents  a  natural  evolution  from  his  previous  music  as  well  as  an  exciting  taster  of  what’s  to  come  from  his  forthcoming  second album.

The track was produced by Dutch/Surinamese duo Yr$ Trly with RGen a Londoner with Sri Lankan heritage who previously contributed to the early Fuse track ‘Antenna’

Having travelled extensively with Fuse, the team all gathered  in  Ghana to  record  all  of  the  track’s  live  elements  with  local  musicians.

Lyrically,  laughs  Fuse,  it’s  about  “going  back  to  where  you  probably  shouldn’t  be  going  back  to!”

“It’s about  a  relationship  that  feels  so  good,  so  you  keep  going  back,” he  continues.  “You know  a  relationship  is  toxic,  but  you  keep  going  back  because  you  have  good  memories  of  it.  But  once  you’re  there,  you  realise  why  you  shouldn’t  have  returned.”

A  whirlwind  of  vibrant  colour  and  uplifting  island  vibes,  the  accompanying  video  was  shot  in  Puerto  Rico. It was a  Natural choice given the style of the music, and  Fuse spent  some  time  listening  to  the  islanders’  problems  and  working  out  how  he  could  help  to  raise  awareness  for  their  issues. 

“I saw how people  are  protesting  against  the  government,”he  recalls. 

“I  was  seeing  schools  being  shut  down  and  so parents  aren’t  happy.  They  know  there  are  issues  that  they  have  to  face,  yet  the  people  are  so friendly  and  so  nice. 

 The music  was  amazing  there,  the  food  was  too,  and  I  had  a great  time  shooting the  video.”‘Island’ previews  Fuse  ODG’s upcoming  second  album  which  he  describes  as  “much  more  diverse  but  it  still  has  that  African  vibe,  and  it  feels  like  a  classic  piece  of  art. 

I’m  very  excited  because  it’s  going  to  expand  territories  for  us.”It  includes  a  collaboration  with  his  hero  Damien Marley on  a  track  which  reflects  the  unifying  call  of  the  Marley/  Nas album  ‘Distant  Relatives’.

Outside  of  music,  Fuse’s current  social  initiative  is  to  expand  upon  the  primary  school  that  he  built  in Akosombo,  Ghana in  conjunction  with  the Wood World Missions. 

He  has  acquired  land  on  the  same  site  with  which  to  develop  a  secondary  school,  and  the  longer  term  goal  is  to  also build  a  university  to  help  local  children  achieve  their  full  potential.

LINK TO SONG BELOW : https://t.co/DTRWf5Sqzd

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