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| Interview @ Mbiri Super Studio |
Early Starts
From a young
age growing up in Kangema Muranga, Musaimo was drawn to music and loved
listening to songs by Baraka Mwinshehe of Tanzania, Dr Nicol of Congo and
fellow Kikuyu Musician DK Kamau. “I
desired to sing like them,” he said. As
a youth in 1979 he campaigned politically for the late minister John Michuki
who gave him Sh5000. By then due to lack of fees after high school he became a
casual labourer and stone mason like his Dad. Every cent he earned he saved.
Still
Musaimo composed songs as a hobby with Mwalimu wa Gatanga a friend. The first song they recorded was on ugly
looks ‘Njungi ya Kiruka’ in 1981 with their savings but unfortunately it didn’t
hit. He continued composing and among
those songs, was ‘My dear Kwaheri’ which when he wrote he didn’t think much of
it. He sang it casually at his house in Dandora. Friends who eavesdropped on him
singing it convinced producer Waweru wa Maingi late brother to Wahome wa Maingi
another Kikuyu Musician to produce Musaimo . As he remembers, finding producers
even then wasn’t easy.
Breakthrough
“It was an
instant hit,” Musaimo recalls. The song’s
success gave him access to kikuyu musical giants like Kamaru from whom he
learned the band organisation. He owed
the song’s fame to musical experience he got studying at St Theresa School in
Eastleigh. Under tutelage of Father
Arnold Grol the school had all musical instruments and Musaimo taught himself
to play the guitar. After mastering it,
he bought his own for Sh40. This irked his dad as guitars in the 1970s were
associated with rebellion. Still the guitar enhanced his musicianship by using
it to compose.
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| Simon Kihara aka Musaimo wa Njeri |
In early
1980s, he formed Mbiri Young Stars band with backup musicians like Kimani
Thomas and Joseph Wamumbe from Gatanga famed for producing many Kikuyu musicians. When ‘my dear kwaheri’ song hit they loved to
be associated with the band. The song is
about a lover’s letter to his girlfriend after leaving her to work abroad makes
Musaimo view his composing style as prophetic. 18 years after the song release Musaimo performed in the UK
for the first time. While there he
narrated that anecdote to his audience who were amused by it.
Composition Style
For him a song's melody comes first, then adds a message and records it. For a song to be timeless
Musaimo says the message and original melodies are key. He cites his hit song ‘chai wa 14’
as an example. Since he recorded it in 1990, it’s still requested in his shows. His songs themes revolve
around lost love, life’s troubles or people. “Songs today lack longevity,” he said.
He observes
troubles musicians experience makes for deeper messages in songs especially
those like him who came from humble backgrounds. “There is no pretense,” he said. Musaimo also observes playing instruments
among musicians today is a dead art. When recording, he plays lead, rhythm and
bass guitars. This he adds aids to his composing.
Western Influences
Like his Western Country music contemporaries
like Alan Jackson and Don Williams, Musaimo loves when his songs are
accompanied by guitars. His latest songs ‘Chugio ni maisha’ has country music flavor
to it while a 1990s monster hit ‘Mwigerekanio’ has a heavy rhythmic bass guitar
lead. He composes a song in a day or two then works to improve it in weeks
following. His 1994 award winning hit
album Combination took six months to finish. Technology has made his work
easier than as he uses electronic drums in studio, saving the manual ones for
live stage performances.
Though he
runs Mbiri music shop Musaimo admits today its shows that sustain him. Per show in Kenya he charges around 30,000 and
in a month he may have 5 to 6 shows especially in festive periods. “The more
your hits the more the invites,” he said. He also gets international invites in
UK, US, Canada and Australia attended by over 500 people charged at $25 per
head by promoters.
When on
those shows he plays ‘mugithi’ hits in addition to his own music. “It leaves them so nostalgic about home,”
Musaimo said. Overseas he carries his Ovation guitar and programmed drums as
carrying instrumentalists would be expensive. He values to play his music live than with CD accompaniment
to retain some of its core authenticity.
Piracy
Though most
of his classic songs are famous he admits piracy has hit hard compared to when
he started. In the era of gramophones he
sold 30,000 ‘my dear kwaheri’ albums.
However with advent of easy to copy media like CDs and cassettes, album
sales have dipped. “You sing a hit and
end up with nothing,” he observes. He
estimates from his almost 20 albums without piracy he may have sold even half a
million copies. He also notes only
paltry royalties are paid to them by Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK),
even after all the airplay his songs receive on the media.
Music Pays
Nevertheless,
he is grateful music has enabled him make a living to educate his children. His daughter named after his mother Njeri scored
straight A’s in her 2012 high school final exam. “Everything I own is from music,” said
Musaimo sentimentally. Musaimo, advices
budding musicians to learn composition and write music that gives advice not
corrupts or is shameful. “Know your audience and dancers in your songs shouldn’t
dress provocatively,” he said.
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| Strumming a tune on his Ovation Guitar |
Mentorship
In over 30
years in Kikuyu Music, Musaimo has mentored and first produced now famed musicians
like Hezeh Ndungu, Joseph Kariuki wa Kiarutara and Warukemi. He urges Diaspora fans to buy original Kenyan
not pirated. Among Kikuyu Musicians he
is the first to have his music in SoundCloud and Apple’s Itunes platform and
admits he earns from it. “I’m much updated on latest music technology,” he
said. His band has a website www.mbirisupersounds.com and also
shoots his music videos through his own Interco Studios. To produce an album he charges Sh30, 000 and
to shoot music videos it’s Sh40, 000.
Awards
KMedia Copyrights
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