Nice to meet yet another Benn loxo listener and a few of his friends a couple nights ago. Never hesitate to get in touch if you’re through Paris or live nearby..

Anyway, thanks to several of you I now have 23 out of the 39 Original Music releases. I hope to complete the collection at some stage so please get in touch if you’re up for a trade.

In the meantime I’ll try to keep sharing the wealth here on Benn loxo with some music from a 1996 Original Music release, Sam Chege’s Kickin’ Kikuyu Style.

As you read this I’m probably sipping Guinness, eating oysters and riding hookers.. not to mention birthing a calf somewhere. Imagine me doing this all simultaneously while singing Sam Chege. Seriously, even a dip in the cold Irish Atlantic couldn’t get this guy’s catchy, up-tempo music out of my head.

Chege is a Kenyan musician who plays benga in a fast Kikuyu style, as opposed to, say, the Luo way. His sound also has a strong soukous feel. I read a review that said it also drew upon Nigerian influences… but really? Name three.

As usual, I’m a little weak on my East Coast African music knowledge, but a little digging revealed that Chege is actually a relatively young guy, having finished his graduate studies in the US just a few years ago. He grew-up in a rural Kikuyu part of central Kenya before moving to Nairobi where he worked (or works?) as a music journalist.

Sam Chege – Victoria

Benn loxo reader and contributor, Fabián, comes through again with some great music by Congolese musicians living in Kenya during the 1970s. I’ve also included a few tracks from my own collection to beef-up the post.

I love reading the stories about how all these bands and the personalities behind them are connected. This is especially true when you’re talking about a relatively small group, Conogolese musicians living in Nairobi during the 1970s and early 80s.

Pepelepe was formed by ex-members of Baba Gaston’s Baba Nationale who had recently moved to Nairobi from Zaire in the early 1970s.

Jim Monimambo formed the Boma Liwanza offshoot, Special Liwanza, in Nairobi in 1976. I would love to get some more Boma Liwanza music. Anyone up for a trade?

Monimambo also wrote and performed for Orchestra Shika Shika, another group that had formed in 1980s in the aftermath of Boma Liwanza’s break-up.

I’ve included some Orchestra Mazemba since they were one of the leading Congolese bands in Kenya during the 1970s and 80s.

Finally, something from the Kenya and Tanzania natives, Simba Wanyika, so we can hear how it wasn’t just the Congolese playing that pre-benga, early soukous style in 1970s Nairobi.

Thanks to Benn loxo reader, Cheeku, and Matt over at Matsuli Music for first introducing me to Shika Shika and the various Liwanzas. And thanks, Fabián, for the continuing contributions.

You can find more info by people who know a lot more about this era than I do here and here.

Orchestre Pepelepe – Mulambo
Orchestre Special Liwanza – Mwale parts 1 & 2
Orchestre Shika Shika – Diabanza
Orchestre Shika Shika – Ivete parts 1 & 2
Orchestre Super Mazembe – Kassongo
Simba Wanyika – Shilingi maua tena maua

Benn loxo reader, David, suggested in a comment a few posts back that I check-out the new Kenge Kenge release from the World Music Network’s “Introducing…” series. A nice find; thanks for the heads-up.

Kenge Kenge play traditional music from Kenya’s Luo ethnic group mixed with a heavy dose of benga and contemporary African sounds à la Konomo No. 1. The group’s name apparently is Luo for a “fusion of small, exhilarating instruments”. Indeed. I bet these guys would be amazing live.

The background vocals also remind me of one of my all-time favourite African bar songs, Meiway’s Miss Lolo. Ah, the lost glory days of late, late nights at Chez Diamy…

You can grab it on emusic. These guys are also featured on World Music Network/Rough Guide’s excellent compilation, The Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya.

While you’re at it, check-out this great video of a Luo dance in southern Sudan. I think the videographer has a bit of a crush on the tall girl, though..

Kenge Kenge – Kenge Kenge

Big thanks to Benn loxo listener and solid DJ, Boima, for the tickets, beer and music last night at the Trabendo. You can catch Boima on tour in Europe with Spearhead at the moment. I’ll be posting something off his latest release, a Sierra Leone hip-hop mix, later this week. In the meantime check-out his web site.

It’s great to keep meeting Benn loxo people. Nice crowd.

Anyway, over a year ago a Benn loxo listener, Carsten, sent me a guest post. Sorry for taking so long to put it up. I re-found Malika’s Poleni just the other day after digging Carsten’s e-mail out of the depths of my inbox:

“Malika was born on the island of Lamu (Kenya) and at an early age moved to Somalia where she began her singing career. In the 1960s she appeared on Somali radio and television and soon gained fame as a singer up and down the East African coast.

Apparently at some point in her career, Malika suffered damage to her voice but unfortunately, I don’t have any early recordings by her so I can’t really make a before and after comparison. Although Malika’s voice at present is not an excessively powerful one nor does its have an extraordinary range, it is a joy to hear her sing. Her phrasing is exquisite and her singing exudes a subtle poignancy that this reviewer finds irresistible.”

You can hear more Malika on the album, Tarabu: Music from the Swahili of Kenya.

Thanks for the post, Carsten.

Malika – Poleni

Today we’ll hear some more good Kenyan music from the Orchard re-release collection on eMusic. This time it’s a little later, a mid-70s recording by Kenyan rumba star, Habel Kifoto.

Initially a member of the famous “military band”, Maroon Commandos, Habel Kifoto released a bunch of solo tracks as well. Benn loxo friend, Steve Mugiri, can tell you more about the Maroon Commandos – and much more – if you’re curious.

Elsewhere, this guy was in Habel’s daughter’s class in Nairobi and enjoys good night out in Nairobi, while this guy feels guilty about listening to pirated copies of their music.

While you’re at it, hear Kifoto and others on the excellent selection of African podcasts over at Podmatic. (For those who don’t know, you can listen to Benn loxo as a podcast, too.)

Habel Kifoto – Sine Ndoe
Habel Kifoto – Charonyi Ni Wasi