Pulse: You sing about this girl from a well-off family whom you are in love with yet your poor status limits you from getting her. Is this a true story?
Zikki: Well, the lady we sing about is the perfect definition of the life we were living; trying to get to the top yet our humble backgrounds limit us from doing so. The message is a real life experience but the lady being addressed here is just but creative work. She is not necessarily a real person that any of our band members was trying to hit on.
P: The song suggests that you live in Dandora. Is that so?
Z: No! That was purely musical again. We live in Kariobangi and Njiru, which have been our homes for the longest time.
P: Zikki...Tell us about this band with such a unique name...
Z: Zikki is a four-member boy band into which we all bring our unique talents. Bianju Morris is the vocalist, Ford Macharia takes care of the bass, Moses Otieno is the lead guitarist while Kevin Kamande is the drummer. Together we help each other in regards to song writing.
P: Quite a collection of diverse talent and skill... how did you meet up?
Z: A group called Vocal; Voices of Change Allover, was our meeting point because while I (Bianju) was doing my vocal music practice and hoping to get a breakthrough into mainstream music, I got to meet Ford who was very good with the bass guitar. Together we teamed up then with time, we got to meet the other members Kevin and Moses who had talents of value to the band.
P: Did you guys plan to have Jaguar on your song Take it Slow from the onset?
Z: No. We had never planned it to start with. It was by sheer coincidence that we met Jaguar and we count ourselves lucky that he chose to be part of Take it Slow because it totally boosted our musical career.
P: So how did it all start and end in a musical project?
Z: After a lot of musical struggle, we gathered some funds and decided to visit Mainswitch Productions in South B because they had good quality productions, the kind that we hoped to achieve. One evening Jaguar checked into studio and found us jamming to Take it Slow and loved it. Spotting an opportunity, we asked him to come on board but he told us to work on the music and call him when we were ready. So we did.
P: Did you have any other musical mentors before Jaguar?
Z: No we didn’t he was our first role model and father figure and we thank God at how far he propelled us musically. To date, we still consult him whenever we need musical assistance.
P: You released another single Ndoto right after Take it Slow. What other project have you worked on since?
Z: Well, we released Ndoto as a bonus track for our fans as they await more hits from us. We are in studio working on some more songs.
P: In Ndoto you sing about how you want to be greater than the people you see on television. How has that journey been?
Z: Today, it is clear that we are not where we used to be. We have grown musically and individually to the extent that some of the people we used to look up to in the hood now consider us stars. Going forwards we definitely hope to be greater than the people around us because we are our greatest competition.
P: We know of many bands that have broken up for the members to pursue their unique goals and aspirations. Have you guys ever felt that?
Z: Yes! We feel the pressure even from external stake-holders and critics who try to separate us saying that we would be better individually, but we have come so far to let it go just like that. We are more than a musical band. We are family and are willing to stick together through it.
P: Apart from music, what are your unique traits?
Z: Ford is the eldest in the group and he is quite the careful and optimistic member, Kevo is the most responsible member of us all, Moses is passionate about music and will always be found playing his guitar even deep into the night, while I (Bianju) am the risk taker, always getting the band members out of their comfort zones.
P: Any girlfriends or wives?
Z: None! Actually we are an ‘anti-girlfriend’ kind of band right now so that we can focus on our musical careers. As we’ve come to learn, celebrity girlfriends can have a so any demands, so we’d rather take it slow!
