Kenyanpoet

• Hill St. Soul Rocks Nairobi into 'Pieces' at Zen Garden

  Posted: November 22, 2010, 6:12 pm by N.W

  It is 20th November and everything is set for the for the 'Soul Lounge Unplugged' featuring Hill St.
  Soul. News of the UK based Neo Soul duo concert has been all over blogs, FB, twitter and on Capital FM, the concert hosts for the past several weeks and all Neo Soul fans from Nairobi and beyond are looking forward to the evening with much anticipation tweeting and arranging the time to hook up.
  
  Zen Garden is where it was all happening, Many fans from even as far as Naivasha were tweeting about their plans to attend the event with others seeking last minute clarification on the venue and where tickets could be found.
  
  The event was set to start at 6pm but knowing the trend with most concerts in Kenya,  I decided to take my time arriving there at some minutes to 8pm. (A show set to start at 6pm will actually start at 10 giving people enough time to talk, eat, booze Spend before the curtain raisers start, then the main act comes on after about 1 or 2hrs)
  
  From the stream of cars parked just outside the Zen gate off the Lower Kabete Rd., I could tell that the place had a seizable crowd. The Concert was set at the well laid out gardens with dimmed lights, couches and cushions clearly setting the mood for the evening - 'an intimate evening full of soulful music in a relaxed atmosphere'.
  
  The concert kicked off at around 9pm with the evening's hosts - Chao and Maqbul welcoming everyone and inviting the 1st act for the night, Kevin Mbugua.
  
  
  
  Being my first time to hear Kevin, I was quite impressed and  wondered how come I had not heard him or of him before. Apparently he has performed at Dass restraurant for Rhythm & Spoken as Naliaka, the shows organizer aptly informed me. I loved his rendition of Tracy Chapman's "Fast car".
  
  Next was June Gachui whom I was also seeing perform for the first time( I am starting to wonder if I am loosing touch with new acts). I am told she has been around for quite some time now and even curtain raised for Les Nubians when they performed in Nairobi some time back.
  
  Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for came. The MCs did not waste any time inviting the Hill St. Soul duo onto the stage as is the norm with most Kenyan MCs (Why ask if we are ready, thats why we bought the tickets, Duh!)
  
  Dressed in an all black outfit was Hillary Mwelwa with her background vocalist and a 4 man band. She did look quite different from the images on her albums but her voice seemed to have become better with time. I found her live performance much better and richer than her recorded hits!.
  
  She performed various songs from her 4 albums starting with 'Don't forget the Ghetto', 'For the love of you',  All that(+ a bag of chips), 'Wash away'(which she did with a reggea tune- totally awesome), and the crowd's favourite 'Pieces'
  
  The crowd went mad when she performed 'Pieces' with most fans singing along. This, as she later disclosed to me, really amazed her as she didn't know that he had such a huge fanbase in Kenya let alone those who knew the words to her songs by heart. She actually had to perform 'pieces' again after the crowd demanded an encore after the 1hr performance.
  
  She did manage to keep us on the dancefloor from the start of her performance till the end with her soulful voice and vibrant beats that had clearly been well rehearsed. The crowning moment for me was when she was able to fuse a lingala tune to her song 'Don't forget the Ghetto'(see the video below) proving that she was still in touch with her Zambian roots despite living in the UK.
  
  Some of the familiar faces that graced the concert were, @Njukey - a good friend and great fan of Neo-soul, African & jazz Music, Naliaka(The editor of EveGal and host of RnS), Solo(Naliaka's Boyfriend), DJ Zack(formerly of Ghetto Radio), @Thinkersroom, @Sciculturist, Mumbi Kaigwa(Actress, Film-Maker and producer of Kigezi Ndoto), Valentine Kamau(Star Newspaper), Jimmi Gathu(Royal Media Services), David Muriithi(DJ - Mercury), Sir Henry among others.
  
  The show came to an end some time past midnight with a hint from Chao that they are planning on bringing more Neo-Soul artists. Might it be Maxwell or Jill Scott next time. Lets wait and see
  
  A huge thumbs up to the Capital FM team for such a well organized event and for bring true soul to Nairobi.
  The event was sponsored by Kiwi smiling feet and the Tribe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

• National Museums of Kenya to hold Nairobi's 1st Art Auction 27th Nov

  Posted: November 17, 2010, 8:56 pm by N.W

  The Pan African Products Awareness Agency (PAPAA) in conjunction with The National Museums of Kenya is organizing The 1st Nairobi Metropolitan Art Auction. An exhibition of the art works to be auctioned is currently on display at the Nairobi National Museum's Small Temporary Gallery and will ran from 12 November to 26 November. The exhibition is a prelude towards The 1st Nairobi Metropolitan Art Auction, an event that shall in future be held annually. This year the auction will be held on Saturday 27th November 2010,6pm, in this gallery.
  
  Some of the participating artists include: (they are not the everyday artists that you find in most art galleries so it makes the show interesting and inspiring)
  
  Rosmary Karuga
  Evanson Kangethe
  Remy Musindi
  Morris Keyonzo
  Ann Mwiti
  Beatrice Ndumi
  Fatima Hassan
  Jimmy Rukuru
  Edwin Mdembei
  Mwaura Ndekere
  Legi Maza
  Mugure
  Moses Wanjuki
  among others

  
  

• Kenyan Poet Ngwatilo presents; Puesic Project Alliance Franciase 2nd Dec

  Posted: November 16, 2010, 9:37 pm by N.W

  The Puesic Project is a mixed-genre performance of poems from Ngwatilo's book Blue Mothertongue, released in February this year to critical acclaim.
  
  Puesic [pew-zik] is what happens when poetry & music come together, when different artists collaborate to tell a poem.
  
  The Puesic Project will also see the launch of a new Ngwatilo video "Dear E," and is the officially launch of "Blue Mothertongue" itself!! There are bound to be other surprises so follow the journey at www.thepuesicproject.posterous.com or the "Ngwatilo" facebook page, or @ngwatilo #puesic on twitter.
  
  For tickets, she is accepting MPESA and issuing electronic tickets, or you may purchase your tickets at Alliance Francaise or from The Puesic Project Team (tickets@ngwatilo.com or 0702 845533)
  
  The Puesic Project is a performance project of Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, acclaimed poet and undercover songstress. Ngwatilo says Puesic [pew-sic] is the place where poetry and music meet. It remains to be seen where or if exactly that is.
  
  PS. Ngwatilo is just back in the country after a tour of Southern Africa for the Poetry Africa Festival where she shared the stage with some of the best Poets from Africa and beyond.
  
  Location: Alliance Francaise Auditorium
  Time: Thursday, December 2 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
  Adv: 500ksh, Gate 700ksh.
  Limited seating so book early.

  
  

• Capital FM Demystifying Neo Soul Music through Live performances - The Lounge Unplugged

  Posted: November 10, 2010, 8:48 pm by N.W

  It was the first ever Kenyan radio station to play Neo Soul Music, Capital FM. They breaking new grounds yet again!
  
  The Lounge- one of their shows that comes on Sundays from 10am will now be live on ground bringing a host of both local and international Neo Soul artists in what will be dubbed as 'The Lounge Unplugged'
  
  Last month they brought Omar one of the leading neo soul artists based in the UK.
  On the 20th, The Lounge unplugged will go pink with Hill St. Soul (pronounced Hill Street Soul)- a  a British Soul/RB music duo made up of singer-songwriter Hilary Mwelwa and producer Victor Redwood-Sawyerr. Due to Hilary's prominent role in the duo and Victor's preference to stay in the background, fans sometimes think Hilary by herself is Hil St. Soul, but that's actually the group's name.The duo is  known for their hits, Washed Away, Its a a black thing off the album Black Rose. They have 4 albums so far and believe it or not, Hillary is actually Zambian, born in Lusaka.
  
  The show will be hosted by Chao and Maqbul at the Zen Garden (along Peponi Rd in Lower Kabete ) from 6pm. Joining Hill St. on stage will be June Gachui and Kevin Mbugua, 2 up and coming Kenyan artists.
  
  Advance tickets are available at the CapitalFM offices for  1,500 shillings and 2,000 shillings at the gate.
  
  This I must say is a great initiative by Capital Fm and the start of what promises to be an exciting opportunity for many Neo soul lovers in Kenya to experience live performances by some of the great artists in this genre.
  
  Maybe its not such a wild wish to hope that one day artists like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu or Maxwell will perform in Kenya.
  
  

  
  

• Villagers Band to host, Qwela, Winyo, Atemi, Chizi & Harry Kimani, 6th Nov @Kenya Museum

  Posted: November 1, 2010, 8:09 pm by N.W

  The Villagers Band will on Saturday 6th Nov host QWELA, Uganda's top Afro Fusion Band which will be playing  for the first time on Kenyan soil, supported by Kenya's finest, Atemi Oyungu, Harry Kimani, Chizi, Winyo and The Villagers Band as well.
  
  Proceeds from the show will go to  Afya Kenya Foundation which seeks to provide quality health care to the rural and urban poor through free community health outreach camps.
  
  The concert will be at The National Museums of Kenya from 7- 11pm. Advance Tickets are going for Ksh. 800 and Ksh. 1,000 at the gate. Students Ksh. 500 E-tickets are available here 

  
  

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes