Meet the new VGMA theme song composer & writer – Dave DA MusicBox
About a week ago, Charterhouse Productions Ghana, organizers of the annual Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Scheme, released the all-new theme song for the 20th-anniversary edition of the awards scheme and beyond.
Produced by Kaywa, with top names like Amandzeba, Adina, Joe Mettle, TeePhlow, KiDi, and Kuami Eugene all on the track, we went behind the scenes to dig deeper into how the entire composition came about.
“When I heard about the theme song contest, I had a chat with one of the young talents in my studio, he penned down a few words and we invited some musician friends who were interested and available to jump on it. Dave is a gem”- Kaywa
So, who is this Dave who hasn’t been mentioned on this track at all?
Dave DA MusicBox, a.k.a. Eliel David Ofori-Atta, is a music producer, songwriter, recording artist, music director, and pastor.
Born on January 26th to missionaries Apostle Florence and Rev. George, Dave grew up in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He is the eldest of three siblings: a brother and a sister.
Dave started playing music in church at a very young age. By age ten, he was already playing the drums. As at his thirteenth (13th) birthday, he had become the Head of the music and sound department in his church.
Tagging along with his uncles to gigs, concerts and studio sessions in his early teens, Dave quickly graduated from an amateur music environment to professional music production.
Still, in his teens, his love for all things percussion saw him collaborate on beats arrangements for rappers.
Dave was made music director and president of his University’s mass choir during his third and final year of studies.
Right afterward, he moved into full-time music production as director, producer, and songwriter. He has since been working with both local and international artists.
Dave is the founder of DaveDaMusicBox, Co-Producer at GrooveHouse Studios and also performs with his friends and regular crew: DaMusicBox
“My music is more of a calling than a passion” he says. “It’s what drives me”. To him, the stage is a vehicle of positivity.
Dave has albums to his name. Out Of The Box and the Out Of The Box Experience. Both feature a cocktail of African and urban contemporary rhythms and express a unique and honest approach to Gospel music.
It may be pertinent to note that though acts like Teephlow, KiDi, Kuami Eugene and Amandzeba wrote their own lyrics, Dave’s structure was what set the entire tone for this masterpiece of a song to be created.
Others who worked on the track are listed below:
Kaywa (producer,) mixing and mastering engineer
Emmanuel Bludo (drummer)
Emmanuel Cobold (additional keyboards)
Emmanuel Selorm Dornyoh (Guitars)
Dominic Quarchie (Guitars)
Bass Player (Eliel David Ofori-Atta)
Background Vocals (Eliel David Ofori-Atta and Gertrude Cobold)
The song, titled ‘Our Music Lives’ is available for free download online.
