Album of the week: Songs of Peter by Fameye

For the few years that Fameye has been in Ghana’s music industry, he has managed to become one of the most loved singers.

Fans love his songs, applaud his songwriting skills and even dance to his tunes. For a relatively new artiste to not only gain but continue to maintain the love and admiration, they must go all out, especially on their debut album or EP.

Songs of Peter

The 13-track album is 38 minutes long. Fameye seems to have followed the trend where musicians produce songs shorter in length than what we are accustomed to because more than half the number of tracks on the album – at least eight – are under three minutes long.

Making tracks shorter than three minutes is now a tactic many artistes use to gain the attention of their listeners. Some might say it rids songs of redundancy and the likelihood of ruining its content value.

For example, in December 2020, a research by Samsung predicted that songs will get shorter and shorter in the years to come because of a perceived drop in the attention span of music fans.

The research also indicated that since the year 2000, fans’ attention span has dropped from 12 to eight seconds.

So now, more than ever, it has become important for artistes to attract a listener’s interest in the first few seconds of their songs, keep the track short and ‘load choruses up front’.

In my opinion, Fameye seemed to be on track to achieve just that.

Every artiste has a motive and a sense of direction for their album. Many refer to this as an album’s ‘concept’. In his case, Track One of ‘Songs of Peter’ spells out the album’s motive.

The musician submits that this album is one of ‘self-discovery and spiritual awakening’ – one which has changed the trajectory of his drive and goal for venturing into the music space.

“Before, I wanted to do music to become a superstar, be popular and draw the attention of everyone, but ‘Peter’ made me know the message is important. It is not just about being a superstar,” he said on ‘Intro’ which has backing vocals from Xorse.

“So now I don’t want to be a superstar, I feel like a messenger and Songs of Peter has these messages Peter wants you to know there is something big coming. This album has everything comfort, peace, love and truth,” he says. For the most part of the album, he fulfils this aim.

Songs of Peter alludes to Songs of Solomon in the bible. Whereas the latter celebrates the joy and goodness of romantic love and the sense of inner fulfilment and harmony with God’s creation that arise from such love, this album motivates, inspires and creates hope amidst a turbulent time, whiles talking about life’s curveballs, growth, humble beginnings, among others.

Fameye is consistent with this concept throughout the length of the album. The tracks on the album range from inspirational to gospel music.

On Track 3, ‘Believe’, Fameye talks about a young man’s hopes that the future is better than his present. 

Track 5, ‘Everything Now’, which is a collaborative effort between himself and longtime collaborator Kwesi Arthur, Fameye discourages procrastination by noting his resolve to complete tasks within the shortest possible time because of uncertainties that pervade the future.

Similar to ‘Believe’, ‘One Day’ is a sermon on perseverance and hope. Fameye sings “things never go be the same for you because one day εbεfa.”

In ‘Hennessey’, Fameye talks about how tough life is and the need for people to focus on their respective journeys.

These are issues people appreciate when addressed by their favourite musicians but, even then, not many artistes risk curating an album solely on themes like these, except for a few.

It also helps that Fameye‘s breakout hit, ‘Nothing I Get’, was not a love song. He talked about empty pockets and struggles, much like the other themes explored on this album.

Hence, the direction of his music and the class of songs he wants to produce is not a tough pill to swallow for many fans.

Fameye may not be the best vocally but his unique voice gives him an advantage, especially in the way he delivers his messages. In his debut hit ‘Nothing I Get’, his tone and lyrics tell the story.

He devises a similar approach in the creation of ‘Songs of Peter’, where he depends on two of his strongest weapons to carry the melody and message.

However, in certain cases, these do not exactly favour him as well on the album, especially when conveying messages of pain.

This notwithstanding, he stays true to himself as an artiste, giving him an upper hand where fans choose to listen to the “Fameye they know” do his thing. Hence, in spite of the similarities in themes, vocals and productions, it is the love child of many.

In some cases, the songs end up sharing identical themes and similar melodies to some extent, but because the album as a whole serves as a break for many from a world dominated by Afrobeat music especially, it easily garners attention.

This is also partly true because the tracks do not imitate the music battling for supremacy on radio.

‘Songs of Peter’ revives the feelings of highlife music, with songs like ‘Ahwehwe’ and ‘Believe’.

Meanwhile, despite the monotony the album creates, it welcomes people, especially ones who want uplifting, hopeful messages – which are not necessarily gospel music – into its world.

Again, in a world where people seek messages of hope and everything else Fameye preaches, the artiste is saved from the eyes of audiences who have given his colleagues hard times, firmly staying within their comfort zone while producing an album with very little variety.