'We don’t plead with DJs to play our songs, we perform live’

Bureti Super Stars members perform during a past function in Kericho. [PHOTOS: NIKKO TANUI/STANDARD]

By NIKKO TANUI

For eight-member Bureti Super Stars, sticking by each other for 12 harsh years has made them rise from humble background to become one of the hottest and most sought after entertainers in South Rift in the recent times.

The group’s leader, Charles Langat, recalls with laughter the days they used to perform using some of the crudest musical instruments they could lay their hands on.

“We started off with nothing but a desire to express our thoughts and feelings through music and since we did not even have any noteworthy musical instrument but a box guitar, we would use anything that could produce a musical note such a debe (bucket),” Langat recalls. 

No funds

He also points out that the group did not have the funds to record their songs when they first came together in 2002. It was not until 2006 when they finally managed to gather enough resources to record their first album ; Kimi Bek Kwenet (Lost  in the middle of the sea). “The song is literally a prayer to God to take one through the storm and into the safe shores, a thing that struck a chord with our fans and has remained an evergreen song because of the motivational spirit behind it,” Langat says. In 2008, the group hit the scene with their second eight-track album; Kilondoi (we are going to cross over) which picked on from where Kimi Bek Kwenet left. “We just did not want to have a song asking God’s help while one is literally stuck in the middle of the sea. We wanted to add a song that picked off from where the story ended in the first song. In Kilondoi Wee (We shall overcome) we sang about one being confidence of finally going over the stormy waters and finally to the calm shores,” Langat says. With the proceeds of the two albums, the visionary group ploughed it into purchasing professional musical instruments and spruced up their image as serious artistes.

And in the beginning of last year, the group released their third album titled; Aririri Tumdonyon (Let’s Celebrate Our Culture). The song has since become a must play in every manner of Kipsigis community celebrations from rites of passage, weddings, birthday parties, politician’s thanksgiving ceremonies, among others.

“We are not Karaoke singers to sing along our records. We don’t tell some DJ to insert our CD and to play track number this or that, we perform our songs live like real musicians are supposed to,” Langat proudly says. And the ability to play several musical instruments and to sing their songs “live” always makes their performance “fresh” and entertaining to watch since they don’t stick to the old routine.

Fitting situation

The group’s propensity of switching the lyrics of their popular songs to fit the situation at hand also makes them a pleasure to listen to.

For instance, in the run-up to the last elections, the group made Deputy President William Ruto emotional and almost to tears during a rally in Sosiot with their song Kilondoi, where they described how Jubilee leaders were literally in the middle of the sea, but would overcome the  challenges.

And the group offers more than just musical entertainment. It is also a formidable comic group that never fails to crack the ribs of audience whenever they put on their acting caps and perform their skits.

 In dramas, the multi-talented Langat plays the hilarious Obot Kibilat, a no nonsense village woman who spells terror on her good-for-nothing husband and other village loafers.