Kayamba’s musical chairs

Mwangi MuiruriFrom the vibrant original Kayamba Africa, formed in 1998, there seems to be no end to the splintering of the group. After former members shipped out to form Kayamba Fiesta and Kayamba Roots, another outfit has emerged. Kayamba African Beats, led by Mike Otieno, has hit the market and says it will release its first track, Tunajivunia, soon. Tugging along George Mbugua, Chris Ocholla, Bius Obunde, John Ndolo and Benedict Mutiso, Otieno says the split from the original group was occasioned by "far-reaching grievances that could not be reconciled". Others members of the new group are Joel Masiga, Joshua Ayata, Tom Otieno, Peter Koigi, Emmanuel Mukangi, Lawrence Otieno and Isaac Sasi."What do you do when even getting paid for work done is a process? We found that getting out and starting afresh, though a difficult task, was the best option compared to endless confrontations," says Otieno.Nonetheless, the entry of the new group only adds to the Kayamba confusion. Indeed, the identity crisis is likely to hurt all the groups, and is likely to lead to tussles that might end up at the Kenya Copyright Board. "We are going to retain the name Kayamba because it was our creation. We worked so hard to have it on everyone’s lips. Kayamba belongs to us all," Otieno declares, much aware they are well within legal limits. Asked whether the many Kayambas in town wont confuse fans and lead to duplication of beats and songs, he quips: "We are the owners of the creative mind in Kayamba. Wait and see!"He says the original Kayamba is now a shell since every splinter group leaves with goodwill and business contacts.Name of the game"We have seen it happen and we risked becoming irrelevant if we stayed put. Kayamba Roots left with most contacts. Before we reached out to our fans about the splinter group being independent, we had lost a fortune worth of business. This time it is no different," he says.So far, all the splinter groups have insisted on retaining the Kayamba name and have been performing African folk songs, hence a duplication of styles. This has made them look like copycats. Contacted, Juma Odemba, the leader of Kayamba Africa, says he has no problem with the new group using the name Kayamba, but he would be happier if they became more creative and developed their own style of music.But Otieno is defiant: "We will stick to traditional folk songs. It is upon Odemba and his group to create their own style instead of using young talents to create styles for him and later laying claim to them."Ocholla, who is the coordinator of the splinter group accuses Odemba of running Kayamba Africa "like a fleet of matatus".He says: "All he does is go out and sign contracts with clients. He then comes and recruits performers. When business is low, he has no idea what to do with the excess performers he had recruited during peak times. That is mismanagement, if you ask me."Kayamba Africa was formed by six members who used to sing at St Barnabas Church, Nairobi, in 1998. The group was named after a hand-played musical instrument — Kayamba. Its website describes the group’s style as neo-traditional, and includes music from different ethnic groups. Kayamba Africa’s formation was inspired by South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Disgruntled ArtistesIn 2000, three members, led by Peter Ngeru, walked out and formed Kayamba Fiesta after they disagreed on management style and how to share proceeds. And in 2006, nine members broke out of Kayamba Africa and formed Kayamba Roots. These included Francis Keya, Emmanuel Gikangi, Desmond Majanga, Philip Bosire and Patrick Ombam. Majanga says they opted to balance between traditional African music and accapella folk music: "There is no bad blood between us and our brothers in the other Kayambas. The market is big enough to accommodate us all." For now fans hold their breath as they wait for the next episode of the Kayamba saga.

Kayamba’s musical chairs

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