The King of History

Daniel Misiani came to the attention of non-Kenyans in the late 80s with two albums released in the UK that impressed us with their propulsive energy. Invigorating as those two albums were, the tracks from the 70s showcased on The King of History are even more exciting. Although the Luo are only the third largest ethnic group in Kenya, their music became hugely popular in the 70s and eclipsed the other forms of Swahili and Congolese-language dance music in East Africa. Benga is perhaps the speediest music from Africa, and it is stripped for action. The music was influential in neighbouring Zambia and Zimbabwe, but also made itself heard as far away as Nigeria, where it was popular among fans of Ibo highlife. Doug Paterson tells us in his liner notes that Shirati Jazz sold 20,000 singles a month in the 70s, though in the 80s cassette piracy severely dented the African music industry.

Misiani, a talented guitarist (who died in 2006), assembled a fearsome line-up of four individuals who play their hearts out from the get go. Misiani’s pointed lyrics (couched in fables and folk tales) often got him in trouble with the authorities, and he was once arrested as an illegal immigrant being from Tanzania – but not deported. The bass is, essentially, soloing throughout. Neither do the two guitarists play in unison they make little musical sorties with hypnotic, intermittent overlaps, a little like in Nigerian highlife. The drums sound like plastic buckets being thrashed, but the drummer mostly berates the high-hat. The speeding train of cymbals bounces between the brittle duelling guitarists: in ‘Simaya Chunye Oketo’ one of the guitarists deadens his strings in an electric mimicry of the Fanta-bottle percussion.