As I walked into Goethe institute a few minutes after seven, on a particularly chilly Saturday evening on the 11th of November, where the Ma3 had been parked showcasing its interior sound power and great company, Antoneosoul, the Kondi/ tout of the day was on stage making the best of his vocals as he made the crowed feel at ease, in the soon to be crowded matatu.
The stage was well lit with the instruments shimmering and photos of the band were being projected to the side walls of the hall. The crowd either bumped their heads through out the evening or did an outright jig to the various tunes that were being belted out. An anatomy of a good evening.
The Ma3 band comprises of the lead singer Nanjira the vocalist, Kimeto the guitarist, Brayo the drummer, Kato the electric guitarist, Karimi acoustic guitarist and prolific producer Tim Rimbui as the pianist.
The day was graced by -the soft spoken & John Legend look alike- Dempsey singing a tune to ‘Carol’ confessing the almost doesn’t count theorem and another on being a geek. This young man is the next big thing.
Ma3 then went on stage & they started with the song “Haki yetu†that features Juliani. It’s a classic hit and I am sure a Kenyan film/TV production that will have a scenes containing demonstrations will have this song on its soundtrack for effect. “Usilesi†(a Swahili corruption of the word useless) was next and it got me laughing as I could relate with it wholly, being arrested by a kanjo, city council askari, for no reason at all. The events that happen and could be avoided are ‘usilesi’ moments. The evening ended with a play of their famous song “Beba bebaâ€.
It was a great show & I wish to commend the Ma3 band. I expect this band to go places and be featured in so many other forums with the kind of music that they have chosen to embrace. Their talent is oozing out of their instruments and the entertainment factor deeply entrenched in their songs. The 12 track album is available at pewahewa.com.
The photos are courtesy of Kevdanative. Check out more photos from the launch here.