Kenyans Wanted Alive on Arrival

If music be the solution to our troubled country, then let it play:

They lived as lively neighbours since they can't remember when. One used to deliver a concoction he called mursik which chased ugali down the throat. The other used to choma on his coals something he called mutura and his friends said it was the perfect appetizer. The next gentleman used to dry some creatures from the lake that he called omena and when fried it was the best relish to go with ugali. In essence each needed the other and they made the model Kenya we have been proud of.

But the recent spate of madness has claimed the life of the producer of mursik, and ugali is no longer going smoothly down the throat. The creator of mutura is six feet underground and the exotically produced form of sausage that they would eat as an appetiser before a heavy meal is no longer on the menu. The guy who used to capture omena from the lake is reported to have succumbed to a stray bullet that everyone is disputing who fired it, as his friends are complaining that ugali is lacking its dawa (omena).

Is this not the worst form of "you never miss water until the well runs dry", or "you never miss milk until your prize heifer succumbs to East Coast Fever"? What wrong did these three hypothetical characters commit for them to lose their dear lives? Did they have to die first for us to realise that they should not have died in the first place? Where are the priorities of the people who would have consciously or subconsciously instigated the mayhem our country is experiencing? When they went to parliament to elect the speaker, I sat down glued to a TV to watch live as the opposing MPs went for each other's necks. But alas, I was thoroughly disappointed (so much so that I forgot to drink water as my doctor has ordered to imbibe eight glasses a day) for they ended up hugging, back slapping each other and with ferocious high-fives.

This was done in the safety of Bunge, while the ordinary mwananchi was either getting interred, interring, nursing terrible wounds, or involuntarily shedding tears after being tear-gassed. Our very own Elder Shem Onditi is still recovering from the trauma he went through in Kisumu, the city made famous by the easy availability of omena, ngege, kamongo and mbuta. He was cornered and they treated him worse than a fisherman who would have accidentally cut the fishing nets of his neighbour allowing for fish to escape. His true and only makosa was that he had travelled to the place he calls home: the land of his 'borning' as they would say in the Caribbean. The grapevine has it that he intends to write a book about his great escape that was facilitated by the Lord. I am trying to beg him to make me his editor and the title I will give his book will be "Wanted Alive on Arrival". Elder Onditi, please tazama upande niliko na unipe hiyo job ya kuhariri hicho kitabu.

Jobjow of Angaza Family Radio has posted two very important music videos on the list, which have squarely addressed the problems that have been brought about by the mayhem that Kenya has experienced since the end of last year. While I am not going to review them for rating, I will nonetheless want to mention them and encourage our readers to listen to the messages. Forget the hybrid genre used in one of the songs and listen to the powerful message of hope and reconciliation which will be understood by all including the deaf.

The first one is Wakenya Pamoja For Peace by an assembly of over 30 Kenyan Artistes, among them church pastors. It is a prayer which among its many implorations requires of Kenyans to light the fire of love and peace. It asks Kenyans to give love a chance by loving, lifting and building each other in peace while bemoaning the beauty of Kenya that is at stake. It is produced by Robert Kamanzi and word out of Kenya is that it is being played over and over by nearly all the radio stations in the land.

One of the artistes, Roy Smith Mwatia, in an interview with BBC Radio from Nairobi said that it took them a day to write and perform it. He has uttered the most inspiring words in recent times, some of which I have immortalised in the heading of this review: "(The song) is medication and as long as it is going to help in the peace process, then let it play. If music be the solution to our troubled country, then let it play." The song looks at the one Kenya that we know while asking its people to be patriots for the love of country. They end by holding hands with the passionate message "let us be one." It is a song I would recommend to all lovers of peace.

Eric Wainaina (of Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo fame) has rendered the second song posted by Jobjow, Daima, Song for Peace – an NTV Production.

It is a powerful rendition which is aptly illustrated by equally powerful footage of images of Kenya, opening with scenes from an interdenominational prayer meeting, a peaceful Nairobi that is followed by telling images of the destruction caused by the mayhem in the country as the singer's words cut through with a message asking Kenyans to join (hands) to build the country telling them that he "lives and believes in Kenya."

We are taken to the tranquil of lush green tea farms probably in Kericho and the good times with an army brass band in action and back to scenes Kenyans will be ashamed of for years to come as footage of women in anguish are flashed, some of them in slow motion for effect, then fast rewound to the Mau Mau days where the singer remarks that Kenyans lost their lives and rotted in jails for attempting to break the yokes of colonialism, leaving one to wonder out loud then how come Kenyans are going through a similar experience today when their country is free.

Even as I said that this song was not for rating (awarding of green stars) I would from a contemporary standpoint rate it as being in the same league, but at a much lower rung, with the likes of Elton John's Candle in The Wind (Tribute to Princess Diana). My only concern is that this Kenyan maestro, Eric Wainaina, is not adequately immortalised on this video, so to speak. We only hear his voice but we do not see him. The producers of the video (NTV) should have done better, and to give Eric his jacket.

REVIEW 1: UMEIMBA WIMBO WA SIFA

Heaven is an abode for the living

Even before it happened, our own Jobjow of Angaza Family Radio had informed me of a big fourth birthday bash that was going to be held on Saturday December 15 for the Angaza Sharon SDA Church. He actually did invite me but I used the cold weather as an excuse to stay away, claiming that it would knock me stiff (I live in the Caribbean, where it is hot even when cold). Now that he has uploaded at least two numbers that were performed during the bash, I am accusing him of withholding from me the best part of the sequence – that some of the best singers in the world are members of Angaza Sharon SDA Church’s extended family. And that they were going to be in attendance.

I believe two days after the birthday bash, Jobjow uploaded the two videos from the function, Panapo Matata by the Messengers and Umeimba Wimbo Wa Sifa. These are great videos in the context of spontaneity and unless there is a tie, one is always supposed to be better than the other. Umeimba Wimbo Wa Sifa, by a wide berth, is the song that rises to the top and gives one the feeling of being in heaven. Unfortunately some of our people still associate the act of being in heaven with dying. Excuse me! That is the worst mistake one could make out of what we learnt in Sunday school, because Heaven is not a mortuary. Only persons alive by the blood of Jesus Christ have a title deed for heaven. Pastor Lee Kĩmani can testify to that fact.

Jobjow is an unfortunate man because I had to wake him up in the middle of the night to find out who those beautiful men and women singing with such passion were. He informed me that it was a mass choir made up of His Majesty Choir and Mustard Seed Choir from Delaware; and Messengers Choir and Maranatha Choirs out of New Jersey. They were led by among others Daniel Mbũgua, Richard Mageto and Douglas Sarara, with Samson Kibaso of Kurasini SDA Choir in Tanzania being the original composer. The fact that my tribesman and brother Daniel Mbũgua who did a marvelous job was the conductor of the day, I decided to ask someone else do a review of the song for me not to be accused of bias.

The person who accepted to do the review is 80-year-old Mr Amba Trott a Canadian who now lives in semi-retirement in the island of his mother’s birth, Nevis in the Caribbean. Amba is no ordinary man on the street. He is a professional actor and musician with an experience that goes back to 1942 as a member of the Montreal Negro Theatre Guild in Canada. He is a playwright/director and his best known production is a musical ‘Horatio’ produced in 1987 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the marriage of Horatio and Fanny Nisbett.

This was his verdict:
“Just had a look at the video you sent. I don't claim to be any expert, but here is my honest impression:
A thoroughly delightful and engaging piece.
A simple but lively melody is carried by a blend of well balanced voices. The lighter altos and sopranos joyously articulating the words with clear enunciation, are well backed up and supported by the deeper lush tones and harmonies of the baritones and basses.
No false starts, discords, or other mishaps are evident. Just a very solid and very pleasing performance overall, right from the basses' opening phrases, to the unified stately and dignified ending by the group. They not only sing well, but they look good and carry themselves well too, albeit some a little more so than others. The choreographed movements are well done and quite effectively adds visual impact through appropriate animation.
The instrumentation very commendably stays unobtrusively in the background, except at the introduction and transition where a key change occurs. This gives the choral group every opportunity to shine and they do not waste a moment of it. In my opinion the group in this piece performs very close to a professional standard.”

Those are the impressions of a man who does not even know that I belong to the same tribe as Daniel Mbũgua. He does not even know what tribes are made of.

I will however want to add one or two comments of my own, because it is not my intention to abdicate all of my duties. At first I thought that the videography was rather wanting, but looking at it more carefully in the context of the circumstances surrounding the performance, Jobjow has been able to capture it in a very unique way thereby encompassing very special sound and visual effects that one would take for granted. Indeed, if the song would be performed in a studio setup, it would not have the same distinctive effects.

One does not need to be told that it was performed in front of a live audience because the din of assembled person is well captured, with people walking in front of the camera and others chatting and kids screaming for joy. One woman is clearly heard calling out ‘nanii’. While my friend Amba noted that there are no false starts, I might add but for one guy I observed (check counter frames 1:57 – 2:01) where he is seen waving to someone and he opens his mouth a second or two after the others, whereas before him (1:48 – 1:53) two ladies had been distracted by an activity off camera, but they recovered fast enough to seamlessly rejoin the flow.

Of course we are humans, and one lady is caught trying to suppress the effects of tiredness (3:00 – 3:02). Jobjow is caught in an episode where he sweeps his camera over people’s heads to capture the start of the salute (3:48 – 3:52) and he makes it! But a father is caught trying to direct his son in the salute game (3:55 – 4:03) yet the boy is doing better than the father. Two men are caught looking at a paper which looks to me like a title deed of their shamba in Nyamira (5:29 – 5:32). However the most outstanding part is where (from 6:00 onwards) the ladies have to march with guarded care to avoid trampling the children who are also doing their thing trying to beat their parents.

If the melody of this great song gave me the feel of being in Heaven, then I can say that it has given me the assurance of life. I will be reckless in my awarding it points by giving it the perfect score, which is a five. Five green stars for Umeimba Wimbo Wa Sifa.

Suddenly music is the main event - Introduction to Music review

Agreeing to be the main contributor for this blog was no better than the blind agreeing to lead the sighted. But like Job of the Bible, our Job at Angaza Family Radio has the faith that I could write a thing or two (masquerading as a reviewer) about the videos he has posted on the website. I am taking the plunge from the deep end. If I am unable to float, I will call for help from other readers to bail me out.

What do I know about music? I cannot sing as my throat gave way decades ago when I was still in primary school and my music teacher was forced to pull me by the collar to remove me from the class choir (std 4) with words that still haunt me to this day: “You did not come here to croak like a frog. You either sing or go never to come back.” I never went back.

I still do not sing, even in church. Every time I gather enough breath to sing out one line, I have to skip two lines and join the congregation in the fourth line after I would have pumped some air in my lungs. And age is wrecking havoc with the little singing ability that I posses. My eyesight is playing games with me and as a result when in church, even though holding a hymn book, I end up reading from the hymn book being held by the person in front of me. I have been told that I suffer from what they call long sightedness.

Job (ati he calls himself Jobjow) is however correct on one aspect though. As much as I cannot sing, I can tell a good song. You hit a wrong note and I will certainly pick it. I will therefore be guided by my ability to tell a good tune from a sloppy or an erratic one. My only other major difficulty is that I can only speak and understand three languages in this world. So, it will be very difficult to judge correctly on the lyrics of a good song if it has not been rendered in one of those three languages.

Before I close off for now I will want to briefly comment on choreography of the music presented on the website. That is a tough one, so to speak. I will therefore be guided by a principle I assimilated in August 1985 when Pope John Paul II visited Nairobi for the 43^rd Eucharistic Congress. I was at that time a reporter with the Daily Nation and I was one of the lucky journalists given passes to stand next to the Pope’s dais. Here I saw our local girls dressed in reed skirts going up to where the Pope was seated and dancing with traditional hip swinging movements right in front of his face.

Having grown up knowing how strict Catholics were in the separation of things religious and things traditional, I knew without having to consult Cardinal Maurice Otunga (he of late memories) that the bottom of the barrel had fallen off – and with a heavy thud. Our traditional way of worship had finally been accepted by the Vatican (I am not Catholic, but there is nothing wrong about it). But as much as we find favour in worshiping God using our traditional rhythms and choreography, I am still of the opinion that there is a very thin line between good dancing and the not so good dancing. We will look at the choreography in a mature and unbiased manner.

I am not an impersonator. My picture is here for all to see who I am. My name is written for all to see and identify me with. If my grandmother were to come back from the dead, she would call me by these same names, Mathai Mũnene. If you know me by any other name but the one given here, I challenge you to toboa siri… yaani kama unaweza.

This will be a weekly submission as long as Job continues to provide us with new videos. Rating (one to five stars) will be of a social genre and not scientific. The fact that I have come in with the last showers of rain, I will not concentrate on some of the videos that have been on the list for a long time. I will mostly deal with the new ones, and will encourage our readers to quickly write to me if they disagree with what I write, but to enjoy the music if they agree with what I write.

God giving us strength, please look out for our reviews every Monday.

Welcome

Its so great to have you all as part of this ministry. We at Angaza Family Radio have all reason to thank you. To get all of us participating we now have this blog where you can post your coments, concerns, questions, articles as we continue to spread the word.