Eric Wainaina (musician)

Eric Wainaina (born August 28, 1973 in Nairobi , Kenya ) is a Kenyan singer and songwriter who received the KORA All Africa Music Award . His first album, Sawa Sawa , was released in 2001. Wainaina's music is an interesting mixture of Kenyan benga rhythms, East African guitars and modern pop music. Eric is also characterized by his active social commitment.

childhood

Wainaina was born in Nairobi to George Gitau Wainaina and Margaret Wangari Wainaina; his brother is Simon Wainaina. His love for music began very early in childhood. When he was four years old, he was given a piano that was originally intended for his brother Simon, who was more interested in football. The young Wainaina began somewhat reluctantly with piano lessons and was then an active choir member in the elementary school and also in the secondary school St. Mary's in Nairobi, except for a short excursion into the world of basketball. The young Wainaina was musically influenced above all by artists such as Papa Wemba , Youssou N'Dour , Lokua Kanza and Paul Simon .

Early career

Wainaina took his first steps into the music world with Five Alive, a gospel a cappella group that included Victor Seii, Bob Kioko, Chris Kamau and David Mageria. The latter was later replaced by Joe Kiragu. Musically influenced by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Take 6, Five Alive quickly gained popularity and was the most played group on Kenya's radios in 1995. In 1996 the group released the first album Five Alive and went on a European tour in the same year. The experience with Five Alive led Wainaina to choose a professional music career entirely. Followed by solo projects: Wainaina made the music for the 1996 by the United Nations Drug Control Program in order given video Get in the Driver's Seat (as much as: Take the wheel in your hand ) - a highly successful anti-drug campaign in 20 countries - and it is can also be seen in the video. That was not only a milestone for his solo career, but also the start of his commitment to social issues, which is increasingly reflected in his music.

When Five Alive broke up in 1997, Wainaina decided to study music at Berklee College of Music in Boston , Massachusetts, from which he graduated with honors; in two different courses: songwriting and recording technology.

Wainaina used his years at Berklee to perform in various regions of the United States and also made regular concerts in Boston. Together with his producer, Christian Kaufmann, he began to produce typical Kenyan sound, Kenyan both in the music and in the text. His idea was to release a new song every time he came home for the holidays, much to the delight of his growing fan base. His live performance at the Beats-of-the-Season concert in December 2000 in front of 15,000 fans was also broadcast on national television.

Growing popularity

One of his most famous songs is Kenya Only , which made him a star overnight. After the terrorist attack on the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, which left over 200 dead, Kenya Only became the unofficial funeral song that was constantly played on radio and television (and later became very prominent in the riots in early 2008). The revised version of the Kikuyu folk song 'Ritwa Riaku' soon made it onto the list of popular radio songs across the country.

Wainaina returned to the top of the Kenyan music scene two years later (2001). The song Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo ( Land of Little Things in Kiswahili) was a reference to the small bribes that were necessary to regulate everyday things, the beginning of his crusade against rampant corruption in the country (more on this in the section on social engagement ).

He toured Switzerland four years in a row, played at Holland's Festival Mundial in 2003 , and at the Harare International Festival of the Arts - HIFA. Both concerts received excellent reviews. He also played at the Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar , a festival of East African music.

In December 2004, Wainaina's musical / play Lwanda, Stone Man, premiered , to which he had contributed a total of 21 songs. It is based on a local folk tale. The show, one of the first of its kind in Kenya, ran a hugely successful theater season and one concert version, and is repeatedly performed at cultural events. A contemporary adaptation of the musical, Lwanda-A Ghetto Story , had a very successful series of performances in December 2006 at the GoDown Arts Center , Nairobi. There are plans to find a permanent home for Lwanda in Nairobi.

Together with Mumbi Kaigwa and Andrea Kalima, Eric composed and arranged the music for Kigezi Ndoto . The Kenyan piece, written and directed by Kaigwa, toured Europe in 2006 as part of the World Theater Music Festival . Eric also wrote the music for Owen & Mzee , a documentary based on the touching story of an unusual friendship between a turtle and a baby hippopotamus set on the coast of Kenya and based on the bestselling children's book of the same name.

In February 2006 Eric played at the very first North Sea Jazz Festival in Nairobi, and in July also in the Dutch version of the festival. In December 2006, Twende, Twende , his second solo album, came out. Meanwhile, the first record, Sawa Sawa , released in 2001 , became one of the best-selling solo albums in the country.

In 2009 Eric produced the musical Mo Faya , a socially critical study based on the earlier work Lwanda . Mo Faya was a guest at the New York Musical Theater Festival in autumn 2009 , directed by Constant Gardener actor John Sibi-Okumu with Eric in the lead role.

social commitment

The song for the UN anti-drug campaign in 1996 was the beginning of Wainaina's social engagement. Even Kenya Only , mourning song in response to the terrorist attack on the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, went in this direction. Since then, his music and his social commitment have been closely linked and cannot be clearly separated.

The chart success of Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo , the song against corruption, also brought Wainaina international recognition. Transparency International Kenya began to support the artist in his work to raise awareness of the negative aspects of corruption and appointed him its ambassador. He also became a representative of MS Kenya, a non-governmental organization of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, for its commitment to music against abuse of law. The Anthem against Corruption ( Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo ) was not so well received everywhere. Public radios (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) refused to play the song, and attempts were even made to prevent him from participating in the Kenya Music Festival by intimidating him and turning off the microphone .

After the obscure and still unexplained death of Father Anthony Kaiser in 2003, Wainaina was asked by the Mill Hill Fathers to write a song about it. With Ukweli such a call for justice arose over attempts to cover up the real cause of Father Kaiser’s death, which was portrayed as suicide when the facts proved otherwise.

In 2002 he played for the inauguration of the International Criminal Court at the UN headquarters in New York, chaired by Kofi Annan .

In 2006 Wainaina was very actively involved in the start of Kenya's National Citizenship Education Program (NCEP II) Uraia to support the development of a more mature political culture in Kenya: Citizens should be able to freely exercise their rights and responsibilities and actively participate in the consolidation to participate in democracy.

Eric was an active member of the World Social Forum's Culture Committee , held in Nairobi in January 2007, and he also appeared on the main program there.

After the unrest in Kenya in early 2008, triggered by fraud in the parliamentary and presidential elections, Wainaina was very committed to peace. His song Daima became the anthem of solidarity on Kenyan radio stations. He also played at the Kiwetu II Festival organized by German Ambassador Walter Johannes Lindner in the garden of the German Residence in Nairobi on April 26, 2008 , the Kenyan Pop Music Festival for peace and unity , a kind of Woodstock or Concert in the Park under the African sky . Wainaina also appeared on September 9, 2008 at the German Ambassadors 'Conference with a focus on Africa at the Foreign Office in Berlin and gave a benefit concert on September 14 as part of the supporting program of the German Doctors' Forum , the proceeds of which will benefit the organization.

Awards

In 2001 he was among the top 100 Africans on the Africa-Almanac.com list for 2000.

When he returned from Berklee in August 2002, Wainaina had not only received a degree in two courses, but also the Jack Maher Prize for exceptional work as a songwriter. This award is given annually to students who recommend themselves as potential future leaders of the international music scene.

Meanwhile, Wainaina's music has also aroused enormous international interest. In February 2001 he received the M-Net (Electronic Media Network, South Africa) award for best male singer. On November 2, 2002, he was one of the first Kenyans to be awarded the prize for the best East African artist at the seventh Kora Awards (Pan-African Music Awards). He was the only Kenyan artist to play live at a KORA ceremony (with Matthias Bublath ). In 2003 he was nominated for another KORA award, and in 2005 there was a third KORA nomination: this time for the most renowned artist of the decade.

At the 2007 Kisima Music Awards , Wainaina won in three categories: Afro-Fusion, Best Song, and Best Video. He was among the 100 Most Influential Kenyans, a list compiled in August 2007 by The Standard newspaper .

Private

Wainaina married Sheba Hirst on February 29, 2008, who had previously been his partner for five years. Their daughter Seben was born in April 2006.

Discography

• 2001 Sawa Sawa
• 2003 Ukweli (single)
• 2004 “Lwanda, Man of Stone” (musical)
• 2006 Kigezi Ndoto (producer & arranger)
• 2006 Owen & Mzee
• 2006 Lwanda - A Ghetto Story (Musical)
• 2006 Twende Twende
• 2011 Love + Protest

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Berklee Profiles: Eric Wainaina
2. ↑ TIME Magazine March 2002- The Bribe has spoken
3. ↑ BBC NEWS - Kenians Dance Against Graft
4. ↑ Eric Wainaina's musical opens at New York Festival September 25, 2009 ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
5. ↑ Nationaudio.com -Saturday nation on the Web, Sept 1 2001
6. ↑ City of Johannesburg: Eric Wainaina ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Tagesschau January 15, 2008: Peace Festival in Nairobi: Encouraging people (tagesschau.de archive)
8. ↑ HABARI - Newsletter of the Embassy Nairobi, Issue 1, 2008 ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ^ Federal Foreign Office - Ambassadors' Conference in Berlin: Focus on Africa - opening September 2008
10. ↑ Africa Almanac Top Africans of the Year 2000 ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Kisima Awards Winners 2007 ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ↑ The Standard, August 21, 2007: 100 most influential Kenyans ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ The Standard, August 21, 2007: 100 most influential Kenyans - Entertainment ( memento of the original from October 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Official website of Eric Wainaina
• Official website of Eric Wainaina Music