Aug 11/07
Hookers and benga
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.
Tags: kenya, kikuyu, original music
Benn loxo reader and contributor,
Benn loxo reader, David, suggested in a comment a few posts back that I check-out the new Kenge Kenge release from the
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 

Almost a year ago Benn loxo listener, Tim, sent me a guest post. It got buried in a heap of e-mail and only re-surfaced the other day:
Just enough time for a quick post today from a 1999 African funk music compilation that I re-found recently.
Lately I’ve been getting so much new music from Benn loxo listeners that I can’t keep up. Big thanks for all the great sounds coming my way. I promise I’ll get to all of it.. just give me some time and keep tuning in.
Were/are any of you into