CD Review- Baisikeli By Valerie Kimani

CD Review- Baisikeli

Valerie Kimani, winner of Tusker Project Fame Reality Talent Show, secured a 3 year recording contract with Gallo Records, and produced this stunning ablum Baisikeli.

I can say for a fact this is a superb album no doubt about it.

It is a mix of slow, mellow and a number of fast-paced tracks covering various sounds. Here, you’re definitely going to pick out unique nuances of South African and East Africa (Uganda and Kenyan) music intonations.

The album features renditions of widely played and still fresh tunes like, “Fever” and “Besame Mucho”.

And original, vernacular (Kikuyu) tracks like “Ngugi ii” and “Hoi and Hoi” are some of the highlights of this album. Here you can sense the great command of language (this being her native language- Kikuyu) as she belts outs these two incredible tunes to the listener’s appreciation. This affirms my strong believe in that, our greatest strength and potential to sell locally and internationally lies in us doing more vernacular pieces. That’s where our creativity lies and where we can express ourselves to the marvel of the world.

Valeria also team up with Maurice Kirya, Uganda’s hotshot, in the killer track “Village girl”.

Bottom line- this is a well crafted album which has the input of some of the best producers, artists and instrumentalists locally and internationally (Kenya, Uganda and South Africa). The project team put together (many Thanks to East African Breweries) to deliver on this great piece of work, certainly, didn’t disappoint.

You’ve got to hear it to appreciate it…..

“Baisikeli”, is definitely a MUST buy.

Valerie Kimani has certainly come of age…..

If there was any iota of doubt if Valerie can sing and certainly “wow” music lovers this album does put that to rest. She has the vocals, flair and everything, musically, to make it big in the music scene. This album clearly attests to that. You go girl!

GREAT PICKS

Tembo; A great dance-able track; you’ll love it

Ndoto Langu (In my head)

Nguga ii (I will say Yes)

Village girl (duet)

Baisikeli; This is the title track to the album and I must confess I didn’t quite like it but after a while it grew on me and it is one of my favorites in the album.

And again the whole collection is great… I hope you’ll love it as much as I did… Enjoy!

Rating: 4/5

Comments

Jazz & Soul Safari: The Beginnings, The Evolution & Growth, The 10th Anniversary, The Future and A Road Trip to Remember

The Beginnings The dream, the idea, to bring Jazz to the masses across East and Central Africa was first conceived by TShaka Mayanja, a well-known Music Promoter, Producer, Songwriter and Lead Bassist to the band, Blackroots Unlimited. TShaka later shared this idea with his friend and host of the popular Jazz Evening show on Radio One FM, Elijah Kitaka. With support from some generous sponsors the first Jazz Safari concert dubbed, “ The Sizzling Jazz Safari ”, took place on the 19 th December, 2008 right outside Ange Mystique at the parking lot. The event featured Saxophonist Eric Marienthal, drummer Oscar Seaton and host of other local and regional artists. And from that inaugural event Jazz Safari was born and off to a good start. The Evolution and Growth On its second edition, in the following year, it moved from the humble beginning that was Ange Mystique’s car park to set camp at the grand space that is Kampala Serena Hotel’s Victoria Auditorium. More recently, as...

Ayub Ogada Live at the Goethe-Institut, Nairobi

This past Saturday I got back to Nairobi all set and eager to see live on stage Ayub Ogada . This, I understand, was his second performance in Kenya since he got back to country, a little over 2 years ago. It was going to be my first to see him perform live. Ayub Ogada stands out as arguably the best known Kenyan musician internationally, though still very much unknown or celebrated in his very own backyard- Kenya. On arrival at the venue, at the Goethe-Institut in downtown Nairobi, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by an overflowing hall. It was literally bursting at its seams, figuratively speaking, I could not get a sitting space let alone a place to stand I was by the side door poking my head to see and hear this world music legend. And he certainly didn’t disappoint and more importantly the audience struck a chord with his unique sound and his mastery of the Nyatiti (a lyre-like stringed instrument). There was group of young men (most likely college...

Concert Review: Hugh Masekela Live @ The Carnivore, Nairobi

This is a guest post from my good friend David Njuki , Thank you my friend. I've also posted the first part in a 4 part series of the Interview Hugh Masekela had with Jeff Koinange on Capital Talk . Enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By David Njuki Hugh Masekela needs no introduction if you are an avid music listener. His concert in Nairobi was highly publicized. One could tell this by looking at the number of cars in the parking lot it was obvious that this one going to be packed to the rafters. Inside there was a lot of pomp from large crowd, all strategic "stage view" positions were already taken and folks were already nodding their heads and swaying to the opening act. Aaron Rimbui was the curtain raiser for Masekela, an honour for any musician. I could point out him doing his now infamous tracks "Alfajiri" and "Benin" I would certainly love to hear new stuff from h...

Jazz @ it's Best

Search This Blog