I am getting my groove back- Former Gogosimo band vocalist, Susan

 Susan Gogosimo [Photo: Courtesy]

In the early 2000s, two young musicians met and fell in love. Their love for music led them to form 'Susan & James', which was initially a two-person band.

Soon they recruited organists and started playing at prestigious events along the Kenyan coast. Before long Nairobi came calling and Gogosimo was born...

Fast track to 2016 and I am meeting with Susan, the other half of Susan & James; she is practicing hard at the Godown Art Centre.

 Susan has recently formed her own band dubbed 'Simply Susan' and it would seem she is picking up from where James left her.

For those who remember, Nairobi is where Gogosimo was launched and according to Susan, it is also where their musical love affair began to end.

"When we came to Nairobi everything changed, I had anticipated that but I had no idea it would end our 12-year liaison," she says.

So grounded was the pair that they were the string band on the popular Churchill Show and even collaborated with the legendary Papa Wemba.

But where did the rain start beating them?

Susan smiles. She is not bitter, not any more, she says

"I think we both changed and just grew apart. Nairobi was a big shift in terms of gigs and family, also our family was growing just like the business, it put a lot of strain on us."

With difficulty she narrates how they worked nonstop even after she conceived and delivered her two last children. But she does not want to paint James in bad light

"He is the father of our three beautiful boys, his failures as a husband have nothing to do with his parenting role, he is a great dad," she says.

But how could she just walk away from such a brand? Gogosimo had become the go-to band, the darling of corporations.

"It was not easy," she says pensively. "I even stayed on as a lead vocalist for one year after we had separated."

On the one hand she was the handled all the band's business and on the other, she did not know how to go it alone. In the end she was forced to strike out on her own after all her efforts to work amicably hit the wall.

"I woke up one day and walked away without anything but my vocals and the belief that if this talent brought me fortune once it still would.

For months I remained silent wondering what I was going to do until one day I spoke to a close mentor who advised me to go back to my roots and make music again. That is when I started recruiting band members," she says.

Today, Susan has a full band made up of five joyful young men. When we meet, they are practicing for a private gig, the song is in Spanish and melodious to boot. If ever there was a doubt about Susan's talent, this could be her come back song!

"I have always gotten along better with men, that's why my band is all male. I am the only female plus I'm the director and lead vocalist. I'm getting my groove back!' she says.

Whereas she could have clung to Gogosimo because it was a joint venture, Susan says she chose to be the bigger person and let James continue doing his thing, adding that no matter their differences James is still one of the best musicians she had the privilege of knowing.

"We can wrangle over names and songs but it won't change some hard facts; what's in a name?" She poses.

Some would argue that a name is everything. Gogosimo published beloved ballads and toured the world. There are still some fans who ask James where Susan is and those who ask Susan why she abandoned James. But the mother of three takes it all in stride.

She knows that it will take her time to get back on top but she is definitely on her way there. "I didn't have a gig for six months and yet I had a band to take care of, but I'm happy that we are back on track."

'Simply Susan' is almost done with its comeback album and will launch in February, in time for Valentine's Day. The band has a regular gig every Friday in Athi River and also performs at corporate gigs.

"I thank God for our children; our first born is a great keyboardist and I am encouraging that. Three beautiful boys bind us together and the small matter of a band name cannot erase that," she says.

In spite of my prodding, Susan is tight lipped about the reason for their quiet divorce, even though James is on record saying that she had been unfaithful. She simply says "irreconcilable differences" and dashes off to direct her band a very big smile on her face.

After practice she says, "Music is my first love; when I am here and I can sing, I am okay and I will be okay. We made music as a couple but before that we made music separately, it is all okay."