Tag: kikuyu

David Waciuma ‘Devil Go/Jesu Kristo’ Afro7

David Waciuma a BIOGRAPHY – he was born in 1945 in Naaro Village, Kandara Muranga County. He went to Naaro / Kirunguru Primary Schools where he did his KAPE. He then proceeds to the Duke of Clocester High School (Nairobi High School) After Independence he was the first lot to be taken to Denmark to be trained as Air force cadet. Around 1964 he came back and said the place was too cold for him. And then in 1965 he was taken again to Egypt Cairo for the same cause. After one year he came back again because of fighting in the collage not completing his scholarship … yet again! His good mother (Wangui Waciama) again talked to Dr. Kiano and he was taken to Canada for full Scholarship to do same cause for 3 years, and then later he joined his brother in America. This is where he started and polished his music career and formed a band. Now in 1971 he came back and told his parents he wanted to become a musician then his older brother whom he was with in USA (Dr Wanjohi Waciama) bought him musical instruments. In 1972 he formed his first band The Monks Experience as a lead guitarist he made an impact to the young and old in the boogy euphoria. He was mostly performing in a club on top of a tall building in the Nairobi KICC, but then he moved to Florida Club along Koinage Street – Nairobi. In 1976 he met the love of his life Anne Kamwende, a student teacher in Kilimambogo Teachers Collage. They tied the knot in PCEA Ting”ang”a Church on the 11th Dec 1976. Then after that he changed from secular music to Gospel music in 1977 and formed RAPTURE VOICES further on he started attending evangelical meetings and getting more socialised in that comunity, eventually he became less active in playing music. David and Anne were blessed with two girls and two boys. David Waciuma died in December 2016. Editors note: The best tracks from David Waciuma and the Rapture Voices are back now as a remastered limited seven inch on Afro7 records. Head over to the shop to secure your copy!

Afro7A) David Waciuma & Rapture Voices ‘Devil Go’
B) David Waciuma & Rapture Voices ‘Jesu Kristo’

Rift Valley Brothers ‘Mu Afrika/Uhiki Wa Nduru’ Mu-Africa

This song rekindles memories of the fiery wave of the black consciousness movement that swept across the African diaspora from 1960s through to the ’80s. The Rift Valley Brothers band’s lyrics are seemingly a clarion call imploring local Kenyans to come to terms with their rich African roots and home-grown heroes. These were likely inspired and penned in praise of Kenya’s liberation struggle and key Mau Mau frontline freedom fighters. Several unsung and long forgotten ‘bush’ generals are saluted for their sweat, gallantry and bloodshed. But the underlying message is undeniably emphatic on the pressing need (especially for the younger generation) to embrace selfconsciousness and pride in their African heritage.

MU-AFRICAA) Rift Valley Brothers ‘Mu Africa’
B) Rift Valley Brothers ‘Uhiki Wa Nduru’

Njoroge Benson ‘Nyinukia’ Odyssey

boat2 (3)A studied lawyer, Chris Kariuki took his hobby of music quite seriously, from the early ‘80s right up to his death in 2001. His earliest recordings while barely out of college were with the boogie-funk Gravity who recorded two singles for the CBS label. In the ‘90s he took up the artist name of Njoroge Benson (or ‘Joroge’) and recorded two singles, right at the very end of the vinyl era in Kenya. The dancehall-inflected ‘Gichichio’ and its b-side ‘Nyinyukia’ came out on an obscure label, Odyssey records. During Kariuki’s Gravity days, boogie funk may have been the sound of the day, but by the early ‘90s the Nairobi dancefloors were tuned to (American and European) house, hip hop, dancehall and everything in between. A series of locally released compilation LPs with foreign hits is a reminder of that. ‘Nyinukia’ is one of only a handful of Kenyan songs from the era that reflect that sound, including the keyboard stabs that are very similar to the piano used on Ultra Naté’s 1991 hit album ‘Blue notes in the basement’, and about a thousand other house songs from the early ‘90s. The drum pattern borrows a bit from the new jack swing groove. Njoroge Benson’s lyrics here are in English, but the title and chorus (‘Nyinyukia’ is Kikuyu meaning ‘take me home’) indeed take it home.

Afro7A) Njoroge Benson ‘Gichichio’
B) Njoroge Benson ‘Nyinyukia’

Francis Njoroge ‘DAI’ Turbo

silverjubileebuyBy the time multi-instrumentalist Francis Njoroge released his first solo single, he’d already been recording for more than a decade. An early trace of his musical activity is found on a classic Zamrock album ‘Soweto’ by Rikki Ililonga, recorded in Nairobi and released in 1977. A founding member of Afro disco/funk/rock group Makonde, it’s the track ‘Manzara’ (catapulted to b-boy classic by Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay back in 1977) that’s become Francis’ most well-known song worldwide, although until recently he was not even aware of the fact. When Makonde broke up in between a European tour and a US gig that never happened, he joined the African Heritage Band, one of the hot new names on the Nairobi live scene at the dawn of the 1980s. Shortly after a European tour he quit the band to take up a gig at a new night club in town. Together with fellow Makonde veteran Sammy Kasule he then formed a new group called Radi whose music leaned on boogie-funk. Another project in the ‘80s was Jabali, whose ‘Folk Song (Kanyoni)’ was an audience favourite. Musically it sounds like a stepping stone towards the sound on ‘Dai’, with its drum machine, synth bass and poppy arrangement. The latter was a full-on dancefloor oriented track that came with a dubby remix on the flipside. And where ‘Folk song’ mixed English and Kikuyu lyrics, Dai (‘riddles’) was all Kikuyu: a lyric urging the young generation to maintain the tradition of telling riddles. Originally released on the small Turbo label as a 45, it had disappeared into oblivion until last year when we dug up a copy in a Kikuyu ex-DJ’s private collection in a wooden cottage outside Nairobi.

Afro7A) Francis Njoroge ‘Dai’
B) Francis Njoroge ‘Dai’ ReMix

Kiru Stars ‘Family Planning/Mumbi’ Editions By Law

stampsprofile“One of the best Kikuyu disco tracks I’ve ever heard…!” Rickard Masip said having found few copies of ‘Family Planning’ on his last trip to Kenya in 2013. Often the continuing search for something fresh and original can be a striving fare, especially when you have to look through thousand and thousands of dirty old singles. Even though there are many Kikuyu Benga singles, few have the magnitude of By Law’s KIRU1 and KIRU6. Over a hypnotizing groove with a heavy backbeat, Family planning tells us the story of a family dispute between husband and wife, set in a traditional Kikuyu rural setting. The bone of contention in the marriage is that the wife has had enough with giving birth to more kids. They have 8 kids so far but the arrogant and rude husband is still not satisfied and wants more. Though grim it may seem the outfall is the man accept the humble argument of the wife. Notice the slight shift to a more Soukouss driven beat towards the end of the track. The bass heavy ‘Mumbi’ is in more positive fashion a classic love song about the authors passion for a woman he named the song after. He goes on tour to Nyeri where she is from and tells all the other guys to lay off his true love. Massive thanks to Moses Mungai for the translation! Both these tracks are now officially licensed and available as 12-inch through our own in-house label Afro7 records, limited to 350 copies in a heavy custom silk pressed sleeve. Both tracks extended and reworked by Finnish supreme Didier Selin. Buy it now!

Editions By LawA) Kiru Stars ‘Family Planning’
B) Kiru Stars ‘Mumbi’

New Sunshine Band ‘What do I Feel?’ Sounds Express

jomoAnnouncement from the SOUNDS EXPRESS label! Straight from the hot press! Ladies and Gentlemen it’s the NEW SUNSHINE BAND! The second single from the band that has been creating FUZZ around your door, keeping the elders awake and the youngsters dancing their feet! Don’t miss out on the fun it’s the hottest sounds around! Evan and Sam at their catchy best! You don’t believe it? BELIEVE ME, BELIEVE IT!  For distribution and commercial inquiries visit Waceke Nganga Music Store River Road, Nairobi.

Ken-TanzaA) New Sunshine Band ‘What do you Feel?’
B) New Sunshine Band ‘Believe me, Believe it!’

Kahurika Brothers Muka Wa Mikora Eunice Harmonic

phoneFirst feature of 2014 is a doublesided Kikuyu Disco burner. Private production by Jimmy Wa Eunice distributed by Centre Music store Nairobi. Steady beat with little variation, it’s the stone hard groove and the basic but very infectious melody line that sets the mark. Guitarist steps it up a notch and starts his improvisation in the last part. Turn the single around and you have another track that is just as good as the first one. If anyone have any information about the producer or the band, or the record store for that matter please leave a comment.

Eunice Harmonic SoundsA) Kahurika Brothers ‘Muka Wa Mikora’
B) Kahurika Brothers ‘Kairitu Roiko’

Nyahururu Success ‘Wendo Wa Mithaiga’ Almasi

uhurubuyWe’ve been busy updating the shop side of things this summer, you can now actually order original Kenyan sevens directly from the blog. You’ll find the different categories under music shop on the right. There are only a 100 singles added so far, we will add more during the next months. The elusive Almasi label is always interesting as the styles in the music differs from each release.  Can’t find much information about the band but it’s pretty certain they originate from the town with the same name in the Rift Valley province. Note that in seventies Kikuyu Benga the foremost and predominant instrument used is the guitar, it’s nice to hear an organ in the arrangements for a change.

Bana MojaA) Nyahururu Success ‘Wendo wa Mithaiga’

Band Sauti Popote ‘Adam na Hawa pt1&2’ Ruhia

We haven’t found any information on the label nor the artist here, looks like a private one off. Great label design, is that a horn upside down? The music speaks for itself here, a religious Kikuyu duet with a great slab of horns and funky guitar drive. In tradition of similar sounding Kikuyu groups at the time (Lulus band, Rift Valley bros) the sound on the b-side is nearly all instrumental. Note the funky change-up at 1:35 and wait for the bass solo! This smells of dancefloor potential. Probably from around mid seventies 75 or 76. Enjoy!

[audio:http://www.afroseven.net/songs/Band-sauti-popote-ithui-riu-pt12.mp3|titles=Band sauti popote – Adam Na Hawa pt1&2]

Lulus band – Nguinio nuu DK Undugu sound

One of many Lulu’s band singles. A prolific Kikuyu group that recorded for several labels, the groups private D.K. Undugu Sounds was run by the groups leader Daniel Kamau. Expect excellent loud pressing and tight production,  simple funky aural esthetics’s as tight drumming, catchy vocals and a thousand dollar guitar riff! Perfect for the dancefloors of 2012.

B) Lulus Band ‘Nguinio Nuu’WRC