Jopango

If Rapasa Nyatrapasa Otieno’s KWEChE was something of a disappointment in 2021, Jopango proves much more coherent and satisfying. To the fore still are the social and political issues that Otieno has long pursued in his music. But it’s in the obvious musical development since then that this ten-track set claims attention. Hailing from Kenya and living in Newcastle upon Tyne in England’s north-eastern corner, Otieno has become more adept and sophisticated in his championing of the nyatiti, an eight-string, double-necked lyre popular with the Lüo community around western Kenya’s Lake Victoria. More subtle and sure, too, in his blending of the instrument’s distinctive timbre with elements of benga and soukous, and a high-lying singing style that often gently leans towards falsetto. A more danceable proposition than its predecessor, Jopango’s title-track is immediately infectious despite its portrait of urban woes at Christmas time. ‘O Nelly Benga’ is a buoyant tribute to Otieno’s multi-hued heritage, the call to ‘Unite’ across Africa’s many ethnic divisions a veritable anthem in waiting. Jopango’s emotional mood is noticeably more diverse than KWEChE, the mellow ‘Ukalo Matek’ floating on liquid rhythms, ‘Adipo Kidoro’ a light and lyrical album closer.