Finding their beat under lockdown
Sauti Sol have released an album that cements their status as one of the new leaders of African music
MY FIRST encounter with Kenyan Afropop band, Sauti Sol, was in Durban in 2013.
MTV Africa invited the continent’s biggest artists to perform at the Africa Unite concert, which was headlined by Snoop Dogg (when he called himself Snoop Lion).
I hadn’t heard of them until they performed at the concert. They were one of the first acts and one of the few acts I left the VIP enclosure for.
When they were done performing, they came into the marquee. I approached them and told them I enjoyed their music.
Two years later, I bumped into them in a hotel lift at the MTV
Africa Music Awards, also in Durban.
They had just returned from their rehearsal and were in high spirits.
Obviously, they didn’t recognise me. Besides, the lift was packed with some of the continent’s biggest stars.
Since then Sauti Sol (vocalists Bien-aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi and guitarist Polycarp Otieno) have become one of the biggest groups on the continent, and boast a MTV Europe Music Award for Best African Act. With their new album, Midnight
Train, they have once again set the standard high for themselves.
It’s a solidly cohesive album, the perfect fusion of Afropop and Afrobeats.
It’s also one that takes their diehard fans to the early days of the group.
I spoke to Otieno via email.
How have you been keeping your spirits up and mental well-being in check, during this time?
We have tried our best to stay sane in several ways.
We are passionate about our wellbeing. We try to eat right and be in a positive mind frame and be there for each other. We work out together too, which is important as it fosters a lot of unity and brotherhood, which we are appreciative of.
In the beginning we were in denial because we didn’t know how long it was going to take. With time, we realised it was not going to end any time soon, so we had to adapt.
It was depressing, especially with the roll out of the album and the tours we had planned for this year and 2021. Gigs have been cancelled.
The whole year is cancelled. We thought that, finally, this would be the year we spread our wings because we have the right team and backing.
But we couldn’t just not do anything, so we worked around the plan, pushed dates and settled on the album release date. Even though we couldn’t do proper promo, we did a lot of Zoom sessions, which really worked well because everyone has adapted to that kind of life.
We have been able to come together as artists, too. We got tested and moved in together in a house outside Nairobi. This has allowed us to create content around the album. We feel like we are on tour. Personally, it has also allowed me to be with my wife. She is expecting our first child and I would have missed everything as I would have been on tour.
What have you learnt about yourselves, individually and as a group; things you have either come to appreciate about yourselves or want to change?
The power of unity. We really are productive when we are together and we feed off each other’s energy.
That’s how we make the dope music and content.
But also, we have discovered things about ourselves, like the importance of independent thought.
We are working on being confident enough to be able to express ourselves as individuals, and decision making.
And that’s the one thing that will define us post-pandemic – how we have grown as individuals.
The world is continually going crazy for African music. Have you guys found yourselves being approached by Western artists, who would love to collaborate with you?
African music is transcending and becoming bigger. This has opened a lot of avenues abroad for many of us.
We get collaborative requests from other artists, writers and producers. We have India Arie and Mortimer on this album. I just feel like we have realised that we are a global village and it has made collaborations much easier.
What is the story that you are telling with Midnight Train?
Midnight Train is about the hustle and grind of life. The train could be slow, but it will eventually get to the destination. It also reminds us that there are multiple trains, some in the morning and others in the evening.
They keep moving. It represents all our years of work and us steadily moving and never stopping.