“Kenyafrica! 1” by Daniel Kamau - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1976Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s

TJR says

A highly enjoyable LP from the 27-year-old singer-guitarist from Gatanga. I’m pretty sure it’s a compilation of 45s (the occasional pt1 and pt2 in the titles is telling) and was released on the French label Playa Sound; the Kenyafrica series being designed to showcase the latest key Kenyan artists to Europe and the World. It’s easy to love Daniel’s smooth sound, the flow is easy and joyous on the ear. There’s not a weak track here, but the opener, “Kiririkano Kia Zk”, and track 4, “Jane Macyline”, are my two favourites. It’s difficult to make sense of the titles but quite a few of them seem to be names – I’m super-intrigued to know if Jane is a real-life Scot! I note that the album closer, “Ningwite Nawe pt.2”, is simply another re-worded take of the aforementioned “Jane Macyline”, possibly indicating 2 sides of the same 45. Good old Wikipedia tells us a little about the artist: “Daniel Kamau Mwai “DK” (born February 1949 in Gatanga, Muranga District) is a musician from Kenya. He is of Kikuyu tribe and performs Benga music. Kamau comes from the village of Mabanda in Gatanga. Unable to pay the tuition fees, he dropped out of the Karatina High School in 1967. He decided to pursue a career in music, and released his first record in 1968. He made a breakthrough in 1970 when he released the “Murata/ I Love You”, which became a national hit. Around the same time he established a music studio of his own, the DK Nguvu Sounds.

The Jukebox Rebel
09–Dec–2014

Tracklist
A1 [03:14] 8.5.png Daniel Kamau - Kiririkano Kia Zk (Daniel Kamau) Africana
A2 [03:00] 7.1.png Daniel Kamau - Pascalena pt.2 (Daniel Kamau) Africana
A3 [02:51] 7.7.png Daniel Kamau - Delina (Daniel Kamau) Africana
A4 [04:35] 8.2.png Daniel Kamau - Jane Macyline (Daniel Kamau) Africana
A5 [03:15] 6.9.png Daniel Kamau - Macho Ine pt.2 (Daniel Kamau) Africana
A6 [03:21] 7.6.png Daniel Kamau - Chiru (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B1 [03:19] 7.0.png Daniel Kamau - Kairitu Gatari Thoni pt.2 (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B2 [03:07] 6.8.png Daniel Kamau - Helena (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B3 [03:38] 6.9.png Daniel Kamau - Kanini (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B4 [03:13] 6.6.png Daniel Kamau - Wendo Uri Murio (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B5 [02:59] 6.7.png Daniel Kamau - Kairitu Kairu (Daniel Kamau) Africana
B6 [03:42] 8.0.png Daniel Kamau - Ningwite Nawe pt.2 (Daniel Kamau) Africana
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