Kenya: Where is the Music?

 

Fred Orido
Nairobi

OPINION
February 13, 2007
Kenya: Where is the Music? The East African (Nairobi) Posted to the web February 13, 2007. CONTRARY to the anthem of the just concluded World Social Forum, "Another world is possible," Kenyan musicians say the event has left a sour taste in their mouths. They neither received exposure nor did they make money.

Some claim they were not even paid for their performance.

This was a missed opportunity that would have given us an opportunity to market what we have to offer culturally, but the errors made by the organisers marred it all, " said Eric Wainaina, a leading Kenyan musician who graced the forum.

According to Wainaina, who also used the forum to launch his second album, Twende Twende, the event was poorly managed. He singled out one of the occasions where he performed late at night after the organisers failed to stick to the programme line up.

His other show, scheduled for Kasarani, was cancelled after the event's managers had put up a malfunctioning sound system. The show was also to feature Zimbabwean musician Oliver Mtukudzi.

"It is unfortunate that the organisers wasted an opportunity that would have showcased Kenyan talent to the world," he said.

Other artistes who performed at the forum included Jabali Africa, Suzzane Owiyo and Chirikure Chirikure of Zimbabwe.

Poets who performed at the forum included South Africans Dennis Brutus, Lebogang Mashile and Pitika Ntuli, Zimbabwean Chiwoniso Maraire, Ugandan Susan Kiguli, and Kenyans Bantu Mwaura and Shailja Patel.

Suzzane Owiyo, a singer and composer, said the organisers were a not mindful of the interests of artistes.

Her main complaint was how the organisers treated international artistes Mtukudzi and South African diva Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

"The organisers gave much of the attention to activists and failed to market music," she said.

Owiyo, who recently released a new album in collaboration with Mbilia Bel said the government should be involved in the organisation of such events.

The organisational hiccups aside, musicians who graced the forum put up a great show, particularly Mtukudzi.

"It was great to be here again but it is disappointing the way things were organised," said Mtukudzi.

THE PERFORMER, WHO WAS visiting Kenya for the second time, has earned accolades for performing political songs that encourage resistance and national pride.

Sources tell The EastAfrican that the musician was so incensed that he left the country in a huff just like Yvonne Chaka Chaka before him.

"We helped him get transport to the airport after the organisers failed to do so, which is unfortunate," said Steve Ogesa of Take 2 Communications, who organised a fund raising concert for the event.

Mtukudzi's music career spans more than 20 years. He has released 40 original albums with nearly all of them best-sellers.

However, it is his dedication to the live music scene in Zimbabwe, and more recently his new home, South Africa - playing to enthusiastic audiences in even the remotest parts of the country - that has earned him a place of honour among African artists.

He was initiated into the world of professional music in 1977 when he joined the group Wagon Wheels. He later left the group and formed The Black Spirits along with some members from the Wagon Wheels.

Since 1980, he has released two albums every year, establishing himself as a producer, an arranger, a prolific songwriter and a formidable lead singer.