Paza Sauti
The group is “JUST A BAND” the title of the concert “Muziki wa Kenya” this was a strange title because their music is mainly electronic music. Not many Kenyans play let alone listen to electronic music. The concert opened with an interesting rendition of the Kenyan National Anthem with electric guitars and drums and that caught the attention of most of us. I havn’t heard the national anthem played like that before.
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The music of Just a Band is mentally stimulating, the sort of music that you listen to with headphones so that you can catch all the words and when there are no words you just want to listen to the instrumentation it is good that Kenyans are starting to write music like this, it is good that Kenyan musicians are getting creative enough to be intelligent. When I walked in to the auditorium and saw three computers sitting next to the microphones I knew I was in for something different and when the three bespectacled introverts who obviously cannot dance walked onto the stage and started punching on the computer keyboards and good music came out, I was converted, there is something like “Kenyan electronic music”.
There is one song that sums everything up for me.. The title “Usini Bore” transated “don’t bore me” The song is inspired (as the artist said) by the cost of an onion. He spoke of how the cost of living in Kenya has gone up, how food prices have sky rocketed how policy makers don’t seem to be doing their job and are constantly reacting to crisis and only when it is highlighted in the media. He seems to ask himself (this is my own interpretation) how real is all of this? Sure, you can blame some of it on the global financial crisis but most are just not real not genuine. Is some of this caused by some politicians playing the cards with some middle men who can open and close the taps of supply as they wish (we have seen this with the fuel shortage) is someone playing around with the supply for a quick buck? Then there are the other scandals: maize, Triton and the list goes on.
It seems like something is up… some scheme…someone or some people are always up to something and when they are exposed explanations that are given are a cover up for something else…and it is to those politicians that he is saying “USI NI BORE”
If you would like to know more about the band visit [kwani.org] you can also view some of their music videos on youtube
