Ivan Musoke
23 August 2008
opinion
Kampala — DIVERSITY in musical genres makes it such that different people have different tastes. You and yours may be content with Bebe Cool. However, there is a group of more discerning listeners.
The kind that require a certain depth to their music. The Maurice Kirya Experience seemingly exists that that void may be filled.
The idea is simple: get a couple of talented people, put them on stage and let them do their thing. Before you dismiss this as another version of unplugged, bear in mind that I said "talented".
Melanie Kaita has been featured as have Navio from Klear Kut and the guys from First Love. Melanie presented a poem laced with clichés and backed up by some instruments (being played, not just sitting there on the stage).
It feels a little odd calling it a show, because it goes beyond that. It is a platform for new artistes to showcase their work.
Maurice views the show, which takes place at The Rouge club every last Tuesday of the month, as "an opportunity to change the face of music in Uganda and get people to appreciate live music".
And it seems to be getting there: "We started with a crowd of 150 people only and now the number has tripled. The beauty is that the crowd we get is exactly the crowd that has been hungry for this, so we grow because everyone comes back with a friend."
It has been a long journey for the artiste that looks at his music, once referred to as fusion soul, as more than entertainment. "I also see it as a means with which to create a big impact and positive change in the society," he says.
The road hasn't exactly been smooth. Mauric's foray into the world of music began when he was 15 years old. Back then there was a group of up-and-comers that used to perform at DV8, among whom were Lyrical G, Bataka Underground (with Krazy Native, the singer's brother), Benon, Michael Ross (still a dancer at the time), Klear Kut and Maurice with MC's Mich and a petite stand-in called Pamela Otti (who reinvented herself as Straka and is not so petite anymore).
Around the same time, Evolution sprung forth, a gospel group comprising 13 of the (then) best gospel singers. Maurice was impressed and wanted in on the action and asked a friend to put him in touch with the guys behind the group D&D who were also the guys that launched the careers of Klear Kut and I-Jay (Irene Namubiru and Juliana Kanyomozi).
Unfortunately, it wasn't his time yet. So Maurice honed his talent, learning the ropes whilst performing at underground events. Things seem to be moving along quietly for a while (a hiatus of about four years) when suddenly a single called Stop hit the airwaves.
A chance encounter with hitmaker Steve Jean, fresh off producing Ross' Hey Senorita, introduced Uganda to Maurice Kirya.
The two parted ways and, on his own again, Maurice went back to the drawing board, where he contacted Daudi (one of the Ds in D&D), who had him cut to music in Luganda and also saw him him pick up the guitar again.
To say that was the beginning of his success would be inaccurate.
There was loads of training involved and a few disappointments along the way, among which was the failure to represent his country in the Idols competition.
He was later invited to join Papito's (yes, the one from Klear Kut) band Euphoria, which had regular gigs at Blue Mango, thereby giving him credibility as a live performer.
A while later, Maurice had a song produced by a then unknown Henry Kiwuwa which he was not ready to release. The song later leaked in Tanzania and gained massive airplay on East Africa Radio and then found its way back home on Sanyu FM. The song was Beera Naabo. It was the beginning.
The first time I went to Rouge to catch the show, I noticed that the lights were low and the ambience was not far removed from the one you see in those jazz clubs we see on TV. The club was not as crowded as it tends to get over the weekend and Melanie was delivering her poem. Figuring that if I let go of any reservations I had carried in with me, the experience would be well worth it. It was. I got so taken in I didn't notice that the number of people was growing.
The curtain raisers, mostly a bunch of people we haven't heard about or seen in gossip columns were quite impressive and soon it was Maurice's turn to take the stage. He performed the songs we have been listening to for the past couple of years, but no one seemed to mind.
That it was live seems to have lent the songs a boost of some sort. Then came the performance with Navio from Klear Kut. The crowd enjoyed every bit of it, and I, inspite of myself, was sold.
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