1/30

I will begin this piece with the token "I haven't written in a while" line...

Now that that's out of the way:

On the 29th of November, I will have marked 30 years of life on this earth.  That's 360 months.   And what a ride its been!  So I thought I'd share some thoughts and experiences in the 30 days leading up to my 30th. 

I spent a very introspective (and sober) weekend at home reflecting on my life thus far.  It's very difficult to summarise it all, its been very eventful, challenging, exhilarating etc etc. Throw any adjective you want, it will probably describe some period of my life at some point.  One thing that I can safely say is, things haven't truned out the way I expected.  At all.

But that isn't such a bad thing.

So many trite expressions come to mind about curveballs and lemons and boxes of chocolates and carping diems.  Or whatever.  One skill I think all of us learn very early on is to keep your fucking feet moving.  Starting from being a little toddler learning how to walk.  You stumble, you fall. You cry some.  You haul your ass up and keep moving. 

This morning, it was business as usual for me.  Woke up late, got on a bus, came to work.  Did what I had to do.  As i write, Kukki and I are live on radio.  Me in the passenger seat, as I am every Monday and Friday.  It may not be the most glamorous or well paying job I do.  I am producer/on-air presenter at Power FM.  And I'd like to believe I am good at what I do.  It gives me a great sense of fulfillment when I listen to the radio and I hear stuff I've produced and it sounds fresh.

Would I trade this for another life?  Yes, I probably would.  But this is my reality.  This is the reality of living in southern Africa.  And I will make this reality special, even if it may not seem as such to others.

Mrs. SaviourOfTheDay

Creatures of doubt live in my mind. Indecision also resides. Sharing my burden, sharing my pain. Fueling the hatred and spreading the blame. I'm not deserving of this gift. And now through these ashes i must sift. Mediocre is what i choose. With nothing to gain but lots to lose...

Finally she walks my way, Mrs. SaviourOfTheDay 
And tells me everything will be okay

I'll be okay...

To Andrew, On St. Andrew's Day

Dear Andrew,

I write this to you a day after my 28th birthday.  In case I wont be around to impart this twisted wisdom to you in person on YOUR 28th birthday I felt I would put it in writing.

Firstly, the significance of your name and today's date:  My middle name Andrew was given to me by your very Catholic grandfather, as I was born a day before St. Andrew's day, which falls on the 30th of November.  Your mother liked my middle name, so we named you Andrew.  

Twenty-eight isn't one of those  landmark years, like 13 or 18 or 21.  In reality its one above 27 and a couple away from 30.  If, like myself, you haven't quite figured your life out, I have sad news for you:

You're fucked.

BUT

The great thing about 28 is you now have 336 months of life experiences under your belt.  You may still make bad decisions, but not as bad as a decade ago.  You know a lot more people than you did 5 years ago, and you're a better judge of character than you were last year.  Use that to you advantage.


Take care of your siblings (though as I write this you have none, and none planned for the foreseeable future).  Keep close to your cousins and aunties and uncles.  You can't choose your family.  But they are fucken useful people to have around.  Love, honor, respect and cherish your mother and grandmother.  Dont give these two peopl the grief I gave them.  Treat them special, like the queens that they are.

Don't ever let money come between your family or friends.

Exercise.  You should be at your physical peak right now.  They say its all downhere from here.

Read.  Feed your mind, always look for a new intellectual challenge.

Obey the law.  Drive safely, pay your taxes, etc.

Be considerate, be helpful, be compassionate.  Learn first aid.  DOnate to charity.  Asssit random old people.

Drugs and alcohol are great fun.  But expensive.  And they tend to fuck with your health.  I'd rather you didn't.

Its OK to be socially awkward.  Your grandfather and myself were introverts.  All you have to do is BE YOU.  Don't feel pressured to conform.

But be assertive.  Don't take shit from anyone.  Absolutely no one.

Pray.  I'll never force religion on you.  But prayer helps when one is troubled.  The Bible is an interesting read, you should definitiely give it a try.

Your father was, deep down, a decent honest man.  A jack of all trades but master of none.  But he certainly did try.  He worked hard and he played harder.  An enigmatic, bright but troubled under-achiever. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


Most importantly my son: I loved you, I love you, and I will always love you.  Never forget that whatever you do in your life

This Facebook post got over 100 likes

 I posted this on the 14th of July and got over a hundred likes.  A summation of my life thus far I guess.

"I've played with people I was told not to, driven drunk, walked in the rain. I've tasted academic success but also flunked out of university twice. Swam naked, lost a tooth, fathered a child. Buried a father and a sister. I've spent many a sleepless night in pain, shaking with alcohol withdrawal. I've worn out pairs of shoes, walking, hustling in Lusaka and Joburg streets. I've bedded more women than I care to count. I've felt the pain of unrequited love. I've spent money on whores and cigarettes and guitars and alcohol. I've watched football in stadiums and screamed my lungs out. I've sat in booths playing music for millions of people. I've made beautiful music myself. I've missed flights, been thrown out of nightclubs and I've cried at funerals. I've had good jobs, I've had bad jobs. I've offended people, I've been offended myself. I've jerked off at my gate. Been in car accidents.
I've been punched, kicked, slapped. I've beaten a few people my self. I've had food poisoning, alcohol poisoning, malaria, and a respiratory infection. I've contemplated suicide, I've talked people out of suicide. I've been the life of a party, I've been a nobody. I've been homeless, I've stayed in some nice hotels.

Life is beautiful. The dizzying heights and the crushing lows. I'm twenty seven years old. I WILL NOT join the club, even though the thought haunts me almost daily. I'm just getting warmed up. Some love me, most hate me. My innings isn't over. Yes, there will be a day when you will have to put me in box and lay me down at Old Leopards Hill. But that day isn't yet here. Favour is eternal, and Nkandu Andrew Kataya is alive and well!"

Coming Home

I read an article the other day about the stereotypes that are still being propagated about Africa.  A little study revealed  that a great deal of published material about our continent have very similar visual themes on their front covers.  Essentially, the world sees us as elephants on a flat plain, with a golden sunset in background and the token acacia tree in silhouette.  And this got me thinking about what I personally think of Africa.  I’ll admit my view of Africa is limited, limited to the few countries in the south that I’ve visited and or lived in.  As such when I do question what my image is of Africa, mostly I think of the two thousand kilometre road journey from Johannesburg to Lusaka.  A trip I’ve undertaken thrice in the past twenty four months.  This trip shows you quite an interesting slice of what Africa is REALLY like.  

  

One thing the world should know, in this part of Africa, one hardly ever sees wildlife.  Cows, goats, chickens, dogs and donkeys, yes.  In abundance!  But Elephants and baboons?  Hardly ever.  And the glorious hues of the sunsets they romantically extol in their literature?  Well, yes we do indeed have glorious sunsets.  But in reality, the colours you see most in Africa are boring brown and boring green and of course glorious blue sky.  In this part of the world, (depending on the time of the year) everything is either very brown or very green.  In our cities, its brown all year round (think Nigerian movie).   Dirt roads, the brown of the unpainted houses and the brown of the skin.

We begin our journey with the bustle and industry of Gauteng.  Despite having lived here on and off for the past seven years, I still have a hard time coming to terms with the sheer size of Johannesburg.  Cars, people, office block, houses, everywhere!  The disparities in wealth are very, very striking.  A squatter settlement here, a gated community there.  A beggar approaching the window of a Porsche Cayenne.  Its obscene.  But its life I suppose.  Our journey is smooth, the terrain flat through most of Limpopo.  A little escarpment and we’re at Beit Bridge, signalling our entry into Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe

What amazes me about Zimbabwe is how very big it seems .  it’s much, much smaller than Zambia, but when you’ve on a bus already for twelve hours and you are still a thousand kilometres from home it seems as though you are traversing the Sahara desert.  But it’s always nice to stare out the window and soak in the huge potential that the country has.  It truly is a fallen giant.  Despite the tough times they’ve had, their small towns are still bigger and more numerous than Zambia’s.  The farms on the outskirts of Harare are more impressive and feature greater herds of cattle and more massive granaries than what you’d see in, say, Chisamba. 

Finally, Chirundu.  Dog-tired after spending some eight hours waiting for all passengers and luggage in the sixty-seater to be cleared by customs and immigration.  Chirundu really is nothing more than a village, for as soon as you drive a kilometre from the gates of the border post facility you are met by the humblest of thatched dwellings.  An hour or so of twisting through the escarpment and you’re back on the flat land you’ve grown accustomed to throughout the journey.  To the right, Kafue Gorge.  A few more minutes and you’re in sprawling, uninspiring Kafue town.  But one’s heart quickens now, knowing that Lusaka is very very close by. Chilanga is soon upon us.  And then Lilayi and Makeni.  

Nothing says “Lusaka” like traffic.  But this particular gridlock feels great.  It means I’m back home.  I peer down and see motorists patiently inching their way forward towards Kafue roundabout, their final destinations unknown to me.  Lusaka residents like myself.  Their faces occasionally darkened in the shadow of an optimistic street vendor at their window.  Findeco House looms large and confident in t the afternoon sun, bidding me, the prodigal son from the south, a warm Lusaka welcome.

Snare Nine

Much has been said on the #BanDunka campaign. I dedicated a few tweets to it a couple of weeks ago, but here in one place are my thoughts again:

The origins of the genre have been highlighted already by brother Anthony Muligisa.  Reggaeton came to us through the like of Daddy Yankee and Don Omar.  Zambian producers were quick to copy the infectious drum pattern and soon we had hits like Gong’a by Uncle Jah and Over Over by jimmy.  Soon there was a plethora of dunka songs in our ears over the successive years, the arrival of a new genre of Zambian music that went relatively unheralded.

Dunka is essentially reggaeton music, adapted for Zambian audiences.  It employs the normal reggaeton four-on-the-floor drum pattern.  Use of “snare 9” was once very prominent, snare 9 being the instrument that gives the beats their distinct “ka” sound from which the word dunka is derived. 

What I like about dunka is its authentic Zambian-ness.  Others may beg to differ, asserting that it’s a copycat of an established sound.  I disagree.  Inasmuch as dunka has its origins in reggaeton, it has evolved over the years to be a truly local sound.  Our music is different from that of the DRC or Malawi or Tanzania.  Like most other music genres, we took another idea and made it our own.  (Bear in mind that rock and roll had its origins in black Spirituals, but was adopted by British youth and turned into something altogether unique).  One only needs to listen to the work of Mampi, Dandy Crazy and Oga Family to realise the level that dunka has raised Zambian music.  Its success in international markets bears testimony to the success of the genre.

Unfortunately with the rise of dunka came a multitude of artists hoping to make a quick buck off a tried and tested musical formula.  Many were quick to replicate the rhythms and melodies, note-for-note, of established hits.  Herein lies the problem.  The past six years we have been bombarded with a whole bunch of songs that “sound the same”.  And indeed they do. Take the established drum pattern, incorporate a simple four chord progression and add juvenile lyrics.  The result?  A catchy, danceable, yet annoyingly predictable hit.  And that is the crux of Krytic’s argument. 

We do indeed have great singers and producers in our great republic.  But lately there is very little real songcraft for we the public to appreciate.  The onus now is on the so called “artists” to revisit their motives for making music, and ponder over what art and artistry is really about.  I’m confident that the industry will rise to the challenge and bring us more great music.

Banjo's dead. Long Live Banjo.

There's something very personal about the rough glide of graphite on paper.  In stark contrast to the manic dance of long fingers on plastic keyboard.  Assuming anyone is reading this, the transfer to the digital realm eventually did take place, but these words were conceived in a lonely, insufficiently lit room, when 0.7mm cluch pencil made hurried love to A4 hard cover exercise book.  The latter doesn't belong to me.

I write at a time when I feel creatively stifled.  My guitars are two thousand kilometres away.  I don't have a phone to share my twisted thoughts 140 characters at a time.  My Blackberry Torch was a casualty of my overly enthusiastic exertions on the dancefloor of our local watering hole two weeks prior.

Release is important to me.  I'm in constant need of an outlet.  I wake up some afternoons with my mind racing, a million thoughts per second going through my head.  Mostly sensible things, sometimes deeply philosophical thoughts.  And of course lots of silly things, much of which I share with my Twitter followers.  Mostly in-your-face, uncensored, I-can't-believe-he-just-tweeted-that kinda stuff.  I know it makes some people uncomfortable and others find my tweets downright offensive.  Some days I feel guilty.  Most others, I don't.  Truth is, I like to shock people.  Its a bit of a perversion of mine.  Another truth is, some people like it.  Their retweets tell me so.  The retweets and favourites are shouting loudly to me "Go, stretch, go!!"  Their perverse enjoyment of my reckless tweets feeds my desire to come up with even more shocking material.  Until we're in some depraved cyber orgy.  A sick (and very, very fun) little Catch 22 on the world wide web.

99% of my tweets are gospel truth.  The other 1% contain embellishmets.  Dont act like youve never added spice to a story.

I word of advice though.  Take my tweets cum grano salis.  I always insist that my internet persona is not the same as my real personality.  I'm a fairly introverted and soft-spoken being in person.  I'm only loud and talkative when I'm drunk or in an uncomfortable situation.  I sort of over-compensate for my shyness by being especially mouthy.  My internet persona is an extension of my radio persona "stretch.dj".  stretch is a douchebag who says risqué things on air, flirts with callers and gets drunk and thrown out of nightclubs.  Nkandu Kataya on the other hand, pays his taxes, dotes on his mother and likes cats.

Oh and Banjo Wirez?  He's dead.  Long live Banjo.

Three Full Moons

I've been fascinated by sex since I was a tiny little thing.  I don't think I was more than six when I first stumbled upon soft porn.  I wasn't sure what was going on, but oh how bare breasts excited me!  Thankfully I was raised in a sheltered, religious environment.  The tumultuous teenage years passed largely uneventful for me.  The first kiss at age 14.  Feeling boobs for the first time a few months later (the most perfect D cups ever.  I'll never forget them).  Mostly it was me whacking off to naughty thoughts of girls at my school.  I told myself I was saving it for marriage, or at least for some person and time worth saving it for. 

At sixteen I had my first real test.  She was my age, a close family friend and we were tipsy, in the back of my mom's car, somewhere in Jesmondine.  I still vividly remember how her smooth, dark skin shone in the moonlight from the open sunroof.  She was wearing a matching bra and thong.  We kissed, we grabbed, we groped and we grinded on each other like our young lives depended on it.  We steamed up mommy's windows. 

But we didnt do it.

I just couldn't let myself.  Tomorrow would be Sunday and I was determined that that we would both be at the Kingdom Hall with our mothers. Hangovered, but singing Jehovah's praises heartily, consciences unbothered by thoughts of the previous night's fornicating.  So we put our clothes back on and I dropped her off at home, and headed home myself, with her bra as a souvenir.  Lord how I fapped that night.  In retrospect that probably would've been the perfect introduction to the wonderful world of the flesh;  a girl I actually liked, in a fairly safe and comfortable environment.

Because a year later, my resolve was finally broken.  Like most boys, my first time was with a more experienced woman.  Again, alcohol was involved.  Mosi.  She reeked of the stuff.   She led me behind the Chudleigh tank, mere metres away from her house.  She kept thrusting her tongue in my mouth in a way that I hated.  I didnt have a condom.  She lay down on the ground in the moonlight and divested herself of clothing.  She fumbled around with my belt, and suddenly I found my shorts around my ankles, my pathetic bare buttocks ironically exposed to the full moon.  It was all over within two minutes, with me pulling out just in time to bust an awkward, apologetic nut on her belly.  I was a few weeks shy of my eighteenth birthday.

That damn moonlight.

Kalampa open early lead

After dispatching newcomers Kalulushi Modern Stars on Saturday, Nkana FC find themselves perched atop the MTN FAZ Super League with nine points, two more than Konkola Blades.  Defending champions Zanaco lie 13th with one point from two games, but did not see action this weekend as they lost away to Orlando Pirates to find themselves booted out of the CAF Champions League.  Fourth placed Red Arrows are the top Lusaka side with five points, equal with fellow Ministry of Defence sponsored side Green Buffaoloes.

Courtesy of http://www.fazfootball.com/zambia/logs/

#ZMAs

The first ever Zambian Music Awards were held last week Friday in a glitzy ceremony in Lusaka.  So I’m told.  I monitored the action from my current location via Twitter.  Thanks to the stellar efforts of @luchi7 and @lalozie, I felt like I was actually at Government Complex myself soaking in what must have been a truly electric atmosphere.

The awards seemed very, very well organized.  From the pictures I’ve seen and eye-witness accounts I’ve heard, things ran more or less like clockwork on the night, a stark contrast to the usually chaotic scenes we’ve witnessed on award nights in the past.  The performances seem to have been on point, with Exile, and Danny standing out as the highlights.  From comments on social media, I gather that Ruff Kid’s performance of “Vigabenga” with label-mate Slapdee and Zone Fam was received with mixed feelings, with some showering praise on the diminutive rapper, and others deriding his over-the-top stage antics.  The glaring disappointment of the night performance-wise was Kay Figo, whose off-key delivery prompted @PetersenZagaze to tweet “Awe chachilamo, ichileya chachilamo”!

The big winner of the night undoubtedly was Slapdee with his haul of five awards (six if you include the award for his contribution on “Vigabenga”).  The result is a testament to the real growth of hip-hop in Zambia. Two rappers came out top of the nomination lists (Macky 2 with eight, and Slap with seven nods).  The night did see a couple of upsets:  alternative hip-hop duo 2wo-1ne will certainly feel hard done by as a result of not capping an awesome 2012 with some silverware on Friday.  Over on the radio presenter front, popular “Red Hot Breakfast” presenter  Hope  will have felt robbed of Best Female DJ which was won by Mimi of Q FM.   Ben Blazer triumphed in the Best Producer category, beating out Raydo of Digital-X who many listeners will agree had a lot more hit records in the past year.

Much has been said about notable absences from the list of nominees, particularly big names like JK, Afunika and B1 who have (arguably) enjoyed a lot more success in terms of airplay over the past couple of years.  Perhaps we’ll see a bit of tweaking from the organisers in the form of extra categories in next year's edition to account for artists who enjoy a lot of support on the ground but may struggle to garner sufficient nominations from the voting public.

It was great to see the entertainment galaxy coming out dressed to the nines.  Chi of Hot FM was certainly a talking point among the ladies as was entertainment demi-god Kay Smash.  Lulu Haangala, Atience and Petita Mwanza certainly caught MY attention as they usually do!  Judy, Exile and P'jay (who I insist is the ONLY person on the planet who dresses worse than me!) can certainly expect a call-out from the fashion police for their uninspiring outfits.

Finally, Zambian Breweries deserves commendation for making the event possible.  And hearty congratulations to all winners in their respective categories!  Undoubtedly, this will raise the bar for our little Zambian entertainment world, as everyone now will (hopefully) put their heads down and work very hard this year with hopes of getting a nomination next February. 

Two thumbs up!

7 Reasons Not To Underestimate Zambia At AFCON 13

I was unable to catch this week’s edition of Soccer Africa on Supersport, but I did follow proceedings on Twitter.  Before even a single ball has been kicked, many are of the opinion that Zambia will not see themselves out of group C, which also features Ethiopia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.  Here’s 7 reasons why they are wrong:

Attacking philosophy.  Many have said that this year’s success in Gabon was down to luck.  On the contrary, the unprecedented triumph in Libreville was the result of free-flowing, direct football.  Quick transitions between defense and attack were a hallmark of epic victories against Senegal and Ghana.  The Chipolopolo leave the bus where it belongs: in the parking lot.

Cohesion.  The current Zambia squad has come up from the youth ranks and are a close-knit unit.  Many have said that the lack of big names discounts them from the ranks of real contenders.  But consider this:  the heart of the Zambian starting XI team play together week-in-week out at Tout Puissant Mazembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The transition from club to country duties is therefore seamless.

Home ground advantage.  Johannesburg is a mere two hour flight from Lusaka, and there are a significant number of Zambians living in South Africa.  During the group stages, Mbombela Stadium will be packed to the rafters with the Chipolopolo faithful.  Expect a lot of support from the host nation, as regional allegiance will certainly come into play.

Game changers.  Rainford Kalaba is the undisputed midfield general.  He makes up for his relatively diminutive stature with sublime ball skills, super-human work-rate and a special knack for the dead ball.  A specialist in collecting the ball deep and efficient distribution with visionary through balls that leave defenses baffled.  Also known to be a deadly finisher given half a chance.

Defense.  The twin-tower pairing of TP Mazembe centre backs Hichani Himonde and Stophila Sunzu are not known to give the opposition much room to create opportunities.  Behind them are a very safe pair of hands in Kennedy Mweene, the vocal and enthusiastic Free State Stars goal-minder who many have touted to take over the Zambia captaincy in the near future

Leadership.  The talismanic Christopher Katongo is every coaches dream captain.  Even on a bad day, his mere presence in the squad inspires confidence in his teammates.  Katongo is composed in front of goal and will punish any slack defensive work.  Chris is comfortable playing out wide on the right, and is known to drop deep to collect balls from his own half to orchestrate a Zambian attack.

Self-belief.   The class of 2012 shrugged off the “underdog” tag the entire world pinned on them and walked away with an historic maiden Nations Cup title.  Undoubtedly the boys will want to silence all critics for good at next years tournament.  Many players in the current squad play in Africa or minor European leagues and will be looking to have an impressive tournament so as to boost their professional careers, fully knowing scouts will be in the stands watching.  This will certainly present a problem for the so called “big names” of African football

Ignore the defending champions at your own peril!

I'm listening to stretch.dj in Hulkshare:

I'm listening to stretch.dj in Hulkshare:

A National Moaning

On the 19^th of September we were shocked to learn that Mama Betty Kaunda, wife of first Republican President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda had died in her sleep in neighbouring Zimbabwe.  News of her death was rightly received with shock, with many Zambians taking to social media to express their sadness at losing a true mother of the nation.  The Government subsequently announced a period of national mourning for the late heroine which has now been extended to Friday the 28^th of September following Dr. Kaunda’s taking ill over the weekend.  As we await our founding fathers recovery from hospital in readiness for Mama Betty’s state funeral on Firday, I thought I’d share a couple thoughts on the concept of periods of national mourning.

The presidential announcement concerning a period of national mourning usually states the duration of the period and the directive that “all flags shall fly at half mast and activities of an entertainment nature should be postponed or cancelled”.  I totally agree with the principle of respecting the memories of the dead, especially when, as in Mama Betty’s case, they have lead an exemplary life and have contributed to the general well-being of the nation.  My quarrel is with the length of a period of national mourning and its effects on the lives of some sections of society.  Being an entertainer and having a background in the private media, I am strongly of the opinion that too long a period of national mourning is retrogressive.  With the instruction to play solemn music throughout the day, radio stations often have to adjust their content to adhere to this directive.  This often involves a change in delivery format or indeed cancellation of sponsored programmes often from large corporate advertisers who often have paid up for their broadcast time in advance.  As to how this issue is addressed between the broadcasters and the advertisers I can only guess, as such issues were beyond my pay grade. The long periods of national mourning also have a negative impact on our musicians and promoters who may have to cancel or postpone a long planned-for show in some distant corner of the country.   After spending money on advertising a promoter or club owner has to bear the financial burden of the loss.

A quick Wikipedia search gave me an indication as to how other countries periods of national mourning… You too can have a read here.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_day_of_mourning In summary though, it seems the Americans only declare a single day of national mourning for late presidents on the day of their state funerals.  Nations in Europe will declare a single day in the case of the highest of high-profile deaths (Lady Diana Spencer and Israeli Yitzhak Rabin got a single day each!) and in the instances of a fairly large tragedy in which many are killed.  Here in Africa it seems the bigger is better, the higher the profile, the greater the duration of a period of national mourning.  In 2008 we saw an unprecedented 3 weeks of national mourning declared for then-president Levy Mwanawasa. 

Inasmuch as we need to honour our departed leaders, let us look pragmatically at the whole concept of national mourning, and not turn it into a meaningless and irrelevant tradition with no real benefit to the nation.  I felt the need to write this piece in order to give a voice to what many have discussed quietly amongst themselves but seem to be too scared or ashamed to say out loud. Rest in Peace Mama Betty, we have lost a symbol of all that is good in Zambian society.

Listen to Bana ba Kongo - Ngelengede feat. Eazy [produced by stretch.dj] on Hulkshare - Free Music Streaming & Download

Listen to Bana ba Kongo - Ngelengede feat. Eazy [produced by stretch.dj] on Hulkshare - Free Music Streaming & Download

Making "Ngelengede"

Just a couple of notes about the making of the song.

When I got into Lusaka early June, I linked up with the boys at UNZA Student Centre.  We got drunk, of course.  They sang me the chorus of "Ngelengede" at one point during the night; I like it so much I asked them to come through to the studio the following day so that we could record it.

The following day we ended up recording our version of Oliver Twist and only got as far as recording a single vocal on the chorus for Ngelegede after I had made the drum pattern at 123BPM and played a very simple guitar progression to guide us (Em D A x2 Am G D Em x2).  A couple days later I made the synth riff that runs throughoout the record (everyone tells me it has a 90s rhumba feel to it... I think thats what really drives the song) and the bassline.  Stashed the song for a couple days and then invited the boys over to come and record in earnest.  

This is what it sounded like on the beginning of the second day of working on it: Click here to download. .  Recording the verses took most of an afternoon an evening, mainly coz Billy despite being probably our strongest and most natural vocalist, really likes to take his time in writing verses.  Eazy's verse was fairly straightforward in writing and recording... as I usually do I helped him pick out his harmonies.  My favourite being the on the second "elo waibila ..."

Billy's verse (verse 2) initially I thought was way too long (24 bars!!!), and I had plans of cutting it up after he left.  But after listening to it like a million times I decided to leave it as is, simply because of all the raw emotion he put into the delivery and how incredibly melodic it was.  And we at Bana love melody.  He put down his lead vocal in 4 parts, citing lack of breath as making it impossible for him to do it all in one take. He then put a second, very melodic harmony on about 95% of the verse and finished off with a little baritone

heres a screen shot of Billy's verse

Albert (verse 3) on his good day is a recording specialist.  On this record I beleive he recorded his verse in one take.  Albert has a nice way of switching his verses 4 or so bars into it (as you will hear on other songs, and this song is no exception.  He started with the very sorrowful "umwana alelila" repeated for the first 8 bars.  The following 8 I asked him to put down a harmony to sort of thicken it out, as I had already figured I wasnt going to play drum for the first 8 bars and I wanted a nice dynamic change into the last 8.  I finally asked him to back up selected words as if he were recording a rap verse (for a teeny bit more thickness).  Finally he put down spoken ad-libs (if you listen carefully you can hear him saying "please tata... chaba shani kanshi... not even salt ... umfweni mayo" ... in the left channel). Other interesting features to take note are the little organ sound which I just totally loved and a little arpeggio from Hypersonic that was hiding in the mix all along but you only get to hear on this part after I muted the lead synth.

Mixing verse 3 gave me a hard time, as I wanted to create like a surreal psychedelic dream-sequence type feel to it.  So I experimented with some unearthly sounding reverbs and delays as well as the little African-inspired guitar riff on the right and a more 70s rock inspired distorted guitar sound on the left.  You can hear the same African riff right at the very beginning of the song.

The chorus was a real bitch to work with... I had wanted Albert's vocal to lead because he sang it so well, and Billy's attempts at singing a lead were way too bland.  Billy and Eazy were thus assigned harmony duties and I also put down one making it a total of 7 sung harmonies on the chorus, with a further 4 tracks of shouted "ngelegede" to thicken it out.  here's an acapella mix of the chorus.  See if you can hear my voice!!

I'll be entirely honest:  this isn't my best mix. The reasons are many but mostly time as I was working on a deadline to get the song and the video out.  And I feel I was being a tiny bit too ambitious with the sheer quantities of sounds I wanted to put in the final mix. For example I put a shaker AND a hi-hat pattern on the chorus, two snare patterns and like 3 percussion tracks.  Which frankly is extreme over-kill.  My strummed and finger picked guitar tracks are barely audible because I really couldn't find any space in the mix to put them, put I felt taking them out entirely would kill something on the song.  The finger picking, I'll admit, was pretty awful, which is the main reason its turned down so low.  Song was just too damn fast and my brain and fingers were just too damn slow!! Listen to the guitar work here



It was however my first true 24-bit recording.  I had the M-Audio Fast Track Pro for about 3 years, but only was able to really use it for the 6 weeks I was at home this holiday.  


and finally, the plugins I used!!


KORG Polysix (you won't hear this one... totally subliminal)
DSK Elektrik Keys (you wont hear it either... just gave shit some thickness)
KORG MS-20 (bassline...!)
KORG Legacy Cell (for the 90s style rhumba synth)
Organ-One (for that sad-ass organ on verse 3.. its actually on the chorus also)
VL-Tone (you wont hear this either... its a nice little emulator of an early Casio keyboard... I put heavy effects on it and let it sit quietly in the background of the mix to confuse the enemy)
Hypersonic (hey I think all of us have used this baby at one point in life, I stil use Hypersonic 1 but I'm very proud to say I'm not at all dependant on this plugin like a lot of people out there.  Used it for an arpeggio and also a little string and clavi sound
Cakewalk SI-DrumKit (hi-hats... I always use this for hats in all my boostele shit)
Sony DLS Soft Synth (shakers)


My drums came from my very secret 2 gig folder of samples.  The snare pattern was heavily influenced by Jimmy Judge's work with Mozegator.  Credit where it's due.  


I would appreciate al y'all's feedback on everything from song structure to mix to general direction, influences and the future of lack thereof of my guys.  Hope its been readable!!


You can listen and download the song here!!

profile: Bana ba Kongo

Bana ba Kongo is a collective of three very different Lusaka-based 20-somethings .  Founded in 2011, the groups music takes a very light-hearted approach to life and living.  Though very tempting to put the group down as a chiunda band, its nearly impossible to clearly define what musical genre Bana ba Kongo can be placed in, as the music is a fusion of many diverse genres. 

Just from the name (which, they insist, must be pronounced with hard ‘b’s!), there is absolutely nothing ordinary about this group.  The band’s music draws influences primarily from the work of contemporaries such as Mozegator, the Mimbulu Family and Ama Blax as well as Nasty D and the kalindula legends of the 80s and 90s.  Their sound, which is the brainchild of main producer Nkandu “stretch.dj” Kataya, is the final product of years of experimenting with different sounds such as house, kalindula, boostele, classic rock, hip-hop and dancehall. 

Freshmen (Ba Fresh)

Freshmen

Albert Njapau (real name Albert Njapau) hails from Chamba Valley in Lusaka, a quite fitting point of origin for the multi-talented singer/rapper. Anyone who knows "Ba Fresh" knows that his trademark is his incredible sense of humor. In the studio, Fresh is responsible for many of Bana Ba Kongo's insanely danceable drum patterns. Fresh has a fair amount of production experience working as Stretch's assistant during his time with  X.Y.Z Entertainment.  Fresh’s lyrical subject matter varies from side-splitting comedy to social commentary to catchy, feel-good call-and-responses.  On stage Fresh can fairly be called the most distinguished dancer of the three

One Billyon

One Billyon

Born Jilowa Wambilisome twenty years ago in Lusaka, Billy (as he is affectionately known) is a product of Mupapa School in Ndola. Billy's biggest strength lies in his versatility, counting song-writing and singing in all imaginable styles as his main threats. Billy can boom out a strong ragga hook, or something far more soulful and emotional at the drop of a hat. Coupled with his knack for creating concepts out of nothing, Billy hopes for a bright future in the game.  The happy-go-lucky University of Lusaka Commerce student counts Bob Marley and P.K. Chishala among his inspirations, and strongly admires the work of T-Sean and B Flow. 

Aubzee (Popo Fyuta)

Aubzee

If its not always his voice, its certainly his rhythms that are behind every BBK record.  Aubrey Chikoyo’s upbringing is rooted in music; his father being an accomplished guitar player.  During his school years in Kabwe, Aubzee and a group of friends were always to be found banging on drums and singing songs at every Kalonga High football match.  His ability on the drums can be heard on songs like “Bengi ba Baila” (where he collaborated  on production with cousin stretch.dj) and "Waluvyanya".  Known also as “Popo Fyuta” and “Red Panther”, Aubzee distinguishing mark lyrically is his poetic use of the Bemba language in his unique delivery, reminiscent of Shimba Boyd of Mimbulu Family in tone and Shimasta in terms of imagery. Metaphors and wordplay are his main staple as he adds to the group’s overall fresh sound.  

Bana first came on the scene late last year with their provocative Internet release ‘Lwimbo lwa Nsele’ which caused a major furor on the underground.  Despite not receiving any airplay (for obvious reasons) the group attracted attention from bar and pub owners, often being invited to perform a few tunes for their patrons. The feedback and response thus far has been encouraging, with many showering praise on the groups outlandish outfits and solid stage-work.  As of writing, Bana have all but wrapped up work on their yet-to-be-titled debut album set to hit shelves in July this year.

Bana Ba Kongo’s music is definitely a breath of fresh air in a Zambian music industry stifled with bubblegum music.  From day one, BBK have always strived to go back to the fundamentals and present a uniquely Zambian sound with a 21st century twist.  Despite the often edgy subject matter and sometimes unconventional approach to song structure, Bana believes that their music will keep people across the continent grooving for a long time to come!