Posts Tagged ‘music’

The Book of Kirya

Posted: October 13, 2012 in Entertainment, Music
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The Book of Kirya

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Ugandan superstar Maurice Kirya has released the follow-up to his debut album “Misubbaawa“. “The Book of Kirya” features 14 fantastic new tracks written by the award-winning singer/songwriter from Uganda.

The new album takes listeners on a musical journey through Kirya’s growth as a person and musician. It shares the things he has learned throughout his life. The album also reveals the playful and wild side of the “king of mwooyo”.

Kirya wanted to create an album that anyone could find interesting. He combines serious subjects of philosophical introspection like “Mulembe Qwa Kirya” and “Don’t Wanna Fight” with the love stories shared in “The Blue Dress Song” and “Sent From Above”. He pays tribute to the women of Uganda with “Ugandan Girl”.

The songs on “The Book of Kirya” successfully reach into the listener’s soul to provoke an emotional response. Whether you smile from ear to ear or shed a tear will depend on which song connects with your own personal story. Do yourself a favor and treat your soul to the gospel of “The Book of Kirya“.

The Book of Kirya Press Conference

Maurice Kirya launches his new album “The Book of Kirya” at a press conference in Kampala, Uganda.

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Click link to purchase: “The Book of Kirya“

Uganda Sings

Posted: July 31, 2012 in Charity, Entertainment, Music
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Uganda Sings

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Uganda Sings is a music collaboration involving some of the most talented musicians in Uganda. Five musicians contributed two songs each to the album.

Uganda Sings commemorates the golden anniversary of Uganda’s independence (1962-2012).

Proceeds from the sales of the music will benefit Uganda Speaks. The initiative is an online social media project founded by Ugandans to take back the global narrative about Uganda. It will allow Ugandans to share stories with the world from their own perspective using their own words and images.

The collection of songs takes the listener on a musical journey through Uganda. The diversity of artistic styles cover subjects that are uniquely Ugandan. The album begins and ends with songs about cities. In between are songs about relationships, struggles, and the natural beauty of Uganda.

Uganda Sings

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Uganda Speaks

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Uganda Sings hopes to transcend national borders to help facilitate peacemaking and understanding throughout the world. The music is available for purchase on the following sites:

iTunes Amazon Google

UPDATE: This is a review of Uganda Sings by William Phoenix of Examiner.com.

“Uganda Sings” Gives Country a New Voice

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Tshila

Posted: November 20, 2011 in Entertainment, Music
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Tshila

Tshila

The BBC World Service had a talent search called “The Next Big Thing” in which they named Tshila as one of the 20 best unsigned artists in the world. Her music was complimented by one of the judges as being “a perfect soundtrack to nice summer day” and “delightful”. A judge reviewed her song “Namboozo” and said “the mix of traditional African sounds with poetry and hip-hop works perfectly for Tshila” and “overall a conscious, upbeat vibe and the most original song in this competition”.

Tshila was born in Kampala, Uganda. She didn’t grow up around musicians. She never had music on the curriculum at any of the schools she attended as a young student. However, her passion for music resulted in her being one of the most noteworthy talents from east Africa.

She truly developed her musical talent after she finished her university education in the United States. She received a bachelor’s degree in software engineering in 2005. As a college student in America, she frequently spoke for African causes. Through the subtle and indirect influence of music, she wants to be a force of change in Africa.

Four months after graduating university in 2005, she returned to Uganda with the hope of developing her music and fusing it with rich traditions to create a sound that transcends cultural boundaries with enchanting rhythms and conscious lyrics. Her mother used to sing folk songs for her when she was young, which caused her to be keenly interested in her mother’s ethnic culture and music from the Gisu people of eastern Uganda. She picked up a guitar and began to sing and perform in different venues in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

Tshila has collaborated with a diversity of artists, including opening for Jaqee for the first unplugged show in Kampala, singing with Kinobe, and performing with Uganda’s groundbreaking hip-hop group, the Bataka Squad. She has made a name for herself as a versatile musician.

Current TV featured her in the documentary short “Raw Truth“.

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Stay updated with with her  latest music, concerts, news, and updates on these websites.

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Maurice Kirya

Posted: November 14, 2011 in Entertainment, Music
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Maurice Kirya

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Maurice’s music is an uncommon blend of R&B and Afro-fusion which he prefers to call “mwooyo” which means “soul” in his native language of luganda. It is influenced by the beauty and unique spirit of his homeland, Uganda.

Maurice made his first American concert performance at the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas USA during March 2010. He has been exclusively featured on The Africa Channel‘s “Soundtracks @ Red Kiva” program. The show is taped live at the popular The Red Kiva nightclub in Chicago.

In September 2010, he was named the winner of the Radio France International (RFI) Discovery Prize for “Best New African Artist“. They chose him ahead of ten finalists from across Africa. Over 500 musicians entered the competition.

Maurice embarked on an extensive world tour in 2011. He performed in over 30 countries in Africa and Europe, including the legendary New Morning Jazz Club in Paris, France. He also performed several shows in the United States which included a concert with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

He has been profiled by CNN International, the Voice of America, and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The  follow-up to his successful “Misubbaawa” album will be released in 2012.

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Stay updated with with his  latest music, concerts, news, and updates on these websites.

Click for website     Click for Reverbnation    Click for Facebook    Click for Twitter     Click for YouTube

One Night in Gulu

Posted: January 13, 2011 in Music, Travel
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During one of my visits to Uganda in 2007, I visited the city of Gulu in the northern part of the country. I was invited there by a wonderful Acholi friend.  One night in Gulu I was asked by another Acholi friend, Sam Okello, if I wanted to go to a nightclub and play pool.   The place that we went to was filled with young adults who were enjoying the company of friends and listening to music.  We waited our turn to play pool and I kept everyone entertained by catching flying ants and eating them.  During the night people would come to me with flying ants clutched in their hand to see if what they had heard from other people was true.  They would put them in my hand and watch me eat them. Eating these insects is not unusual.  They are also roasted and considered a delicacy.

The experience was made even more surreal when the local disc jockey in the nightclub decided to play a popular American song from 1982.  Here I was playing pool with an Acholi friend in a city recovering from a twenty year rebel insurgency while eating raw insects wearing a “Rage Against The Machine” t-shirt and listening to Toto’s song Africa.   The song was played more than once.

That song now immediately transports me back to that special night of my life spent in Gulu.  That’s why I included the song in this video of me riding on a boda boda through the streets of Gulu.

Another Ugandan Adventure

Posted: January 12, 2011 in Art, Music, Travel
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This is a journal of my visit to Uganda in November 2010. It covers many of my experiences, such as attending the Villages in Action conference and the Kampala International Film Festival, as well as the great times I had with my friends Fred Mutebi and Maurice Kirya.
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Another Ugandan Adventure

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