Owiny Sigoma Band unleash ‘Power Punch’ on 8th April 2013 via
Brownswood Recordings. Spinning on its London>Nairobi axis, the
MOBO-nominated group continue to redefine universal, artistic and
cultural exchange blending traditional Kenya nyatiti and Luo music with
Western songwriting and production techniques. The album, as its title
suggests, is a confident, radiant record packed with stirring, sometimes
downright frisky jams.
In 2009, a handful of London-based musicians travelled to Nairobi in
Kenya to collaborate with local musicians there. It was a loose
arrangement… there was no specific agenda other than to bring the
musicians together, exchange ideas and enjoy the results. Jesse Hackett
(keys), Louis Hackett (bass), Sam Lewis (guitar) and Tom Skinner (drums)
made up the London contingent and their first trip to Nairobi was in
January 2009 to meet and collaborate with two Kenyan musicians: Joseph
Nyamungu and Charles Owoko. The workshop/rehearsals were a lot of fun
and pretty fruitful – “They acted as a skills exchange and a way of
sharing our music. We learned some of their songs and they learned some
of our songs too,” explains Tom. Finding a studio that could accomodate a
7-piece live band wasn’t easy but eventually they holed up in an
amazing disused factory space to record. The resulting four tracks made
their way to Gilles Peterson who promptly signed the band to his
Brownswood imprint and sent the boys back to Nairobi for another
week-long recording session with Joseph, Charles and their extended
musical family.
The results are documented on the band’s self-titled album from 2011 –
a collection of gloriously hypnotic Afro grooves symbolic of the true
culture clash between the Luo and London.
Teasing ahead to their sophomore album, Brownswood’s London>Kenya cartel Owiny Sigoma Band deliver the superheavyweight Owiny Techno on 1st April 2013 – a straight ahead sound system killer uniquely aimed at the dancefloor.
Harder, better, faster, stronger… Owiny Techno hurtles out
of the speakers at a brisk 140bpm powered by a boisterous technoid drum
riddim and bolstered by drummer Charles Owoko’s rolling percussion. The
unity of this mighty groove is interrupted, and augmented, by wayward,
distorted bass and the overall result is pure fire for the dancefloor.
Owiny Sigoma Band unleash Power Punch on 8th April 2013 via
Brownswood Recordings. Spinning on its London>Nairobi axis, the
MOBO-nominated group continue to redefine universal, artistic and
cultural exchange blending traditional Kenya nyatiti and Luo music with
Western songwriting and production techniques. Power Punch, as its title suggests, is a confident, radiant, album packed with stirring, sometimes downright frisky jams.
A truly original and exhilarating soundclash, Power Punch marks the next exciting chapter in the evolution of a remarkable band.
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