By Millicent Muthoni

Attending the Spotlight on Kenyan music shows at the Alliance Francaise is always the highlight of my week. It’s a choice way of escaping the mundane pressures of the week on a Friday evening; a half-way point between the office and the club. What I expect is entertainment laced with nourishment of the soul. Hardly do Kenyan artistes the Centre hosts disappoint.

On the off-chance however, you walk in expectant and walk out deflated. Like I did last Friday, during the launch of Kayamba Roots’ debut album, Mulongo.

Good costumes

Members of Kayamba Roots Francis Keya, Emmanuel Gikangi, Desmond Majanga, Philip Bosire and Patrick Ombam

Their signature muscle-tight tops and jeans costume was a good break from the ubiquitous Kitenge shirt. Mercifully, they have dispensed with the lip-sychronisation common with the other Kayambas that many have complained about. Kayamba Roots has some extremely talented singers, like Desmond Majanga and Philip Bosire. Majanga is a brilliant composer and his feather-soft tenor can scale any height. He is also experienced in directing singing groups. And so it figures that he would start his own splinter from Kayamba Afrika.

It was not the poor attendance that ticked the audience off. That is expected for a first concert. But it felt that the group dwelt more on entertainment — the wapi nduru kind — than on presenting maturely blended music. At some point it became a deafening instrumental jamboree and the day was only saved by the curtain raisers, the acapella group, Cheche. The crowd was moved to silence by their ethnic renditions, and especially by Ken Musungu’s sonorous bass.

Cultural Repertoire

There was little attention paid to fusing the voices and a much too desperate attempt to make the audience dance. Granted, you have not enjoyed neo-traditional music if you haven’t danced, but that does not mean that vocalists can go off tune or shout into the mic, especially if, and because, the music is not pre-recorded.

Kayamba Roots has been a welcome addition to the wedding scene and to the Sunday afternoon family entertainment over nyama choma, but for stages like the Alliance Francaise, it scores too high in melodrama.

To their acclaim, the group originated with the signature tune, Mulongo, which has become synonymous the Kayambas. Several other songs in the album are a documentation of our cultural repertoire than its creation. There is a good attempt to customise some regular tunes like Aoko, Safari and Werokamu. Wamama is their lovely original composition in praise of women. As well, the album has a balanced pick from different tribes.

Roots Music

What we expect from this, obviously capable group is that they raise the bar for entertainment and live performances. That they also dig deeper and wider into our musical roots and get the rich but forgotten music, and package it for our culturally attuned contemporary ear. Then we shall dance.