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Growing up
as a young boy in Wanjohi village in Kipipiri Nyandarua, Kibandi had an
inherent love of 70s, 80s and early 90s Kikuyu music. In those eras DK Kamau, John Ndichu, were Kibandi’s
musical role models. He also loved to play the harmonica. But it’s in 2002
Kibandi recorded his first album ‘wahenirio na thuiti’ having worked as a sign
writer for a transport company for over 10 years.
Unlike many
novice musicians starting out their music careers in the murky River Road
Nairobi, Kibandi was guided by the one Mark Kamande wa Kioi. After listening to Kibandi’s songs Kamande
showed him the right studio to record his music and recommended instrumentalists
to play in the record. To Kibandi, this was critical as he has witnessed new
musicians get duped by low end producers and end up releasing a sub standard album.
“If you lack a guide album quality can be compromised,” he said.
The song
that however brought Kibandi some recognition within Kikuyu music scene was released
in 2003 title ‘Nyumba cia town single 10 by 10.’ The song chronicles how people
live in urban areas crammed in small single rooms. However ‘Arume Hatuwezeki’ song brought
Kibandi to mainstream Kikuyu audience in album 13 released in 2010. The song’s
video features the late Olympic marathon runner Samuel Kamau Wanjiru dancing alongside
Kibandi. The song has veiled references to the late Kamau Wanjiru rising from
abject poverty to winning a coveted Olympic medal.
Inspiration
for the song came after Kibandi compared current generation of men to those of
yester years. Kibandi observed current generation
of men is spineless and not persevering when facing problems like former generations.
“I see young men with potential drink and black out on trenches and it saddens
me,” observed Kibandi. He added real men
stand up to challenges and faces them soberly which positions them to lead a
home. Tunes in his song come from emotions
the songs message brings out when Kibandi composes. However like many of his contemporaries songs
come out of the blues sometimes especially when he is psyched up in a quiet
environment.
“I like my
songs to be unique but simple to the audience,” said Kibandi. From what he composes he works with
instrumentalists to play the song in the most fitting way. Composing for him is a process he took 2 weeks
on Arume Hatuwezeki after going through several drafts and perfecting. “A song is like a sculpture, I revise it
until there is nothing more to add then I book the studio,” he said. He uses
his acoustic guitar to aid in compositions.
“It’s good
for musicians to learn instruments,” he added. Studying is also key for him as he composes
and sees it important for a serious musician to have a library at home in order
to improve his songwriting. Kibandi says his music is for live performances as
even productions are done with live instruments. “Our fans want to hear a band
playing like it sounds on CDs,” said Kibandi.
He has performed
in venues like Blue Springs and Turacco Village along Thika road and Visa Place
Rongai which he rates as a stand out gig he still remembers as it was packed
and the fans energized. During festive
periods, Kibandi performs every weekend and during weekdays he runs his clothes
business at Gikomba. He has also for the last seven years been the Chairman of
the 200 member United Artists Welfare Group (UAWG) comprising of Kikuyu and
Kamba musicians.
He has mentored
artistes like Kuruga wa Wanjiku, Mukuria wa Njeri, Jeremy Kinyozi, Franco wa
Subu and others. His guidance has been
on an artiste perfecting his songwriting skills. UAWG works to nurture new Kikuyu
musicians and guide them to avoid them getting into pitfalls that plague new
artistes in River Road. Musicians in the
group guide the budding ones on issues like song arrangements. For Kibandi working with new artistes
enriches even a veteran artiste as well. “If you ignore a new artiste, GOD may
uplift him higher than you, and you may need him then,” he said.
Reflecting on his career Kibandi admits were it not for
piracy, music can be financially rewarding. “If I sell one album 99 are being
pirated,” he added. Regardless he has of
all his twenty albums sold over 100,000 copies.
His latest album is “Mwongoyo” currently a hit in all Kikuyu radio
stations. He laments how mentally taxing
it is to compose only for someone to pirate. “No wonder musicians live long,”
he adds with a chuckle. According to him
if a banana thief can be prosecuted why can’t a music pirate.
Nevertheless he urges Diaspora fans to invite them to perform
overseas. “We are open to performing if
we get the chance,” said Kibandi. “It will grow the Kenyan economy and uplift
our lives,” he said. As to how he has managed to be so prolific since venturing
to music in 2002. Kibandi says he had written some albums in the early 90s but
due to financial strains had to wait up to 2002 to produce them. Scarcity of good producers also slowed him as
well as these days musicians are the ones who market their music unlike in yester
years. “New album promotion and
marketing is a challenge,” he said.
The married father of three is of the view that the current
music scene needs someone to scout all the studios looking for new albums to be
played on the mainstream media. His aim is to emulate the veteran Kikuyu
musician Wanganangu who released his first album in 1940s yet some of his
albums have individually sold over 100,000 copies and his songs remain timeless
classics in Kikuyu music scene.
To Book Jacksam Call Him on +254 722 516 673
To Book Jacksam Call Him on +254 722 516 673
Kikuyu Musicians Publications
3:55 AM | 2
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