7 April 2004
Kampala — AFTER 19 years away, Achilla Orru Apaa Idomo leaves Toronto Pearson International Airport tonight for the two-day journey that will see him arriving at Entebbe on Friday. He is the Uganda musician whose dexterity with the lukeme instrument is creating a big international following from Toronto to Tokyo. Today, Achilla's popularity continues to grow worldwide as an unparalleled virtuoso performer on the lukeme thumb piano.
But Achilla's fame is as much a story about personal triumph as it is about talent. He lost his sights at the tender age of six. His world forever plunged into black, he began pushing himself for success through sheer determination. At St Francis School for the Blind Madeira, Soroti, headed by Franciscan Sisters, he excelled in playing the lukeme. Though considered a lowly cousin of the guitar and shunned by the educated, the lukeme became a versatile instrument capable of expressing a range of sound in Achilla's hands. His unique gift earned him a berth at the Uganda National Festival for schools in 1976 where he was hired to teach the lukeme to a group of girls. His team came on top.
Today, Achilla is a well-recognized artist whose band, Bana Afrique, is on a roll. It comprises the guitar section, the flute, fiddle, trumpet and the lukeme. The unique band is made up of three white Canadian women playing the flute, fiddle and trumpet. Pattu Bokello, son of the late Johnny Bokello, plays drums while Ugandan Godfrey Sekijoba plays the bass. The lead guitar, Colin Campbell also a white Canadian, is one of the few North Americans who have mastered the art of playing the African rumba style. "When you close your eyes, you would think it's Congolese Diblo Dibala playing", says Achilla.
Achilla's latest and third album titled Do-mach (The Sacred Gift) will be released officially on May 29 at the Glen Gould studio at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation building in Toronto. Already, the salivating media have begun focusing on Orru's career in anticipation of the album.
But, ever the perfectionist, Orru was still fine-tuning the album at the last minute before it went to the factory for mass production. To capture the essence of the album, he commissioned fellow Uganda artist David Kibuuka to create the cover graphic that depicts Achilla sitting in a village homestead, holding a huge lukeme with both hands.
On the album, Achilla creates an authentic Afro-pop ambiance using the lukeme as the centerpiece instrument. Displaying extraordinary talent, he freely samples modern African dance rhythms that include township Mbaqanga, soukous and snatches of West African Afropop on the three tracks-Lokembe Jives, Stella Akello, and Jitu La-Musafara.
However, the album is remarkable for those tracks where the lukeme soars front and center. On the tracks Waat Dong Ogik, Dho Mach, Can-lim, Dako and Dongo Lobo, Achilla displays exacting mastery of the lukeme that is unrivalled. In his hands, the lukeme ceases to sound like the metallic keyboard that it is, but rather a string instrument.
Yet, despite his singular musical pursuit, Orru is increasingly thinking about what he can do for children with disabilities, especially the deaf and blind. He notes that for every success story, there are literally hundreds of children with disabilities who will never realize their potential because the system is not built to cater for their needs.
He is disappointed that only a handful of African countries have specific legislation on education of children with disabilities, and Uganda has one of the least developed laws in this area.
However, Achilla hopes to contribute toward changing the status quo. Using his close friendship with Bill Graham, Canada's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Orru is lobbying to transform his dream into reality by getting a cultural center built in Uganda that will help develop artists, especially those with disabilities. He is also one of the directors of the newly registered Canadian-based charity I-READ-ABC that is committed to promoting the education of deaf and blind children in Africa. "Along the way, someone saw a possibility in me, and gave me that extra push to make me independent", he says. "If I can do the same for just one child, that is already an accomplishment."
However, during his three-week visit, Apaa Idomo, as he likes to be known on stage, will also have his ears opened for new music produced from traditional instruments. As part of his world tour to Europe, Japan, North America, and hopefully east and southern Uganda, Achilla hopes to showcase traditional Uganda instruments.
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