Skip to main content

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
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 19th 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 of last year, they move…
Post a Comment
Read more

Ayub Ogada Live at the Goethe-Institut, Nairobi

Post a Comment
Read more

DVD Review: MTN Jazz Safari 2009

Oh …It’s been a while and I’m sorry for starving you (my very loyal fan) of some juicy notes on Jazz Music. So to pick up from where we left I kick off with a review of MTN Jazz Safari 2009.
I just finished watching the amazing MTN Jazz Safari of 2009 on DVD, thanks a million to TShaka Mayanja. This is certainly a great piece of work, professionally recorded despite all the inherent issues that accompany a live performance recording. The team behind it did a superb job in capturing the experience and energy of the whole concert in a recorded media- DVD Disc. All this took place, live, on the 8th October 2009 at the Kampala Serena Hotel (Victoria Ballroom), Uganda. On Stage you had Chuck Loeb (Guitar), Eric Marienthal (Sax), Oscar Seaton (Drums), Matt Cooper (Piano), TShaka Mayanja (Bass Guitar), Pragmo (Keyboard/Synths), Wakake Otieno (Percussions) and Steve Oundo (Vocals) The DVD features original recordings by Eric Marienthal and Chuck Loeb. That apparently were the first they were playing…
Post a Comment
Read more