The kenyan guitar-like instrument called Nyatiti is one of the most important instruments of the Nyanza Region. On march 11th we met with two different Nyatiti players. First we went to the village of Joseph Oganga. (Watch the video) Later on Oganga joined us to visit one of his friends, who is also a great musicians. The last days I worked out a three-minutes track based on the recordings we did with Okumo Korengo. There is also a great video of the recording session, Agnieszka did this day. Korengo Extract
This is a longer version based on the recordings we did in Kisumu on march 10th. As I have already written before, Ohangla Music is totally hip in Kisumu. It s really the big thing at the moment. They are playing Ohangla in all of the clubs and of course everybody is dancing to the straight four- on-the-floor-beats the drummers are playing over and over.
Obviously the following example sounds a little bit different from what I have posted before. Nevtertheless I hope you gonna like it. kisumu extract
Here comes a longer version of Ogoya Nengo. After listening to her takes over and over again and again, I am still so impressed by her singing. What a voice !
For the middle section of the song I used the recordings we have done before we left the village. Everybody was dancing and singing. The husband of Ogoya played the solo drum accompanied by an amazing percussion trio. Watch the video, Agnieszka did on this unique day. ogoya nengo longer version
And this is a longer version based on the recordings we have done with Joseph Oganga right before we met with Owino Koyo on march 11th. I think the version is still a little bit to cheesy and a little bit to soft. May be it´s a good idea to record a pretty loud drum part for the middle section of the song. joseph oganga extract
This is a longer version based on the recordings we did on march 11th with Owino Koyo in his small village just a stone´s´throw away from the lake victoria.
Both the video of the recording session and the first audio example are of course still available. owino koyo longer version
Here come a fiew scenes from the session with Dodo player and singer Ogoya Nengo. It was a fun day with a lot of interesting and nice happenings such as praying, talking, eating and dancing with the people from Ogoya’s village. It ended up with a big party featuring Ogoya’s husband in a traditional dress…
If you watch the video of the recording session we did on march 12th in Rongo Village you won´t be surprised that our working title of this session is called “the crazy man recordings”….
It was our last session at the Nyanza region. A few days later we went to the east coast of Kenya.
During the last days I tried to notate some of the melodies, the musicians in Rongo Village were singing. I played these melodies on a very high xylophone to create a kind of a funny fugue based on the melodies we have recorded. For the pretty ironic beat I played some straight figures with brushes on different sheets of papers and again I used my wooden bassdrum. Rongo Man
If you arrive at Nairobi it always takes some time to feel comfortable. After taking a cab at the airport you usually stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.
2 hours and 10 miles later a crowd of honking cars is waiting for you at Tom Mboya street.
Especially if you come from Kisumu – this very relaxed city of the Nyanza region- it ´s a big changeover to leave the airplane and to throw oneself into the fray of Nairobi.
The following musical extract gives you an impression about this atmosphere.
For the music I used two small traditional drums, I played with a side-stick, a small kenyan shaker, an old kalimba which I bought at Kariokor market and a Marimba. Nairobi
March 11th was one of the most exciting days during our stay. In one day we met with Ogoya Nengo, Joseph Oganga, Owino Koyo and last but not least Okumo Korengo.
We came upon Korengo at Aluny Village, a very small dorp close to the village of Oganga.
Both Oganga and Korengo are fantastic Nyatiti players. At a first glance their way of playing sounds pretty the same but the longer you listen to their music the more you realize how different they play.
Korengo plays the Nyatiti much smoother than Oganga and his singing is much more relaxed and more laid back. I couldn´t say which style I prefer. May be you do.
On top of the recordings we did at Aluny Village, I played some brushgrooves on different sheets of paper and some heavy bass-like marimba ostinatos. I also recorded some string-like sounds at my piano using different ribbons and horsehair. Okumu Korengo
Four days before we went back to Germany I met with Olith Ratego. Olith is part of the younger nairobian music scene that still has a strong relation to its cultural roots. Nevertheless musicians like Olith or Makadem try to find their own style and their own voice based on their musical roots.
For example Olith is strongly influenced by the traditional Dodo singers of his region. He is also a very good friend of Ogoya Nengo who lives very close to the village where Olith grew up.
Oilth and me recorded three very nice songs.
This week I began to work on a very simple and very short song that sounds a little bit like an african chlidren´s song. Olith Children´s Song
