Joseph Batte
23 October 2008
Kampala — ELLY Wamala was a really hot combo of the past and present. He was undoubtedly one of the most exciting voices in the contemporary world of Ugandan pop music.
He wrote his music in solfa-notation and ensured that it was structured in more keys than the standard three-chord progression, which made him a hard act to copy.
When he died in 2004, I feared his music, which had made him a darling to the public, would be labelled a relic and relegated to the dustbins. But his sons and daughters Fiona Mukasa, Spageon Wamala, James Muwanga and Barbara Wamala had other ideas about their father's music.
Recently, they lifted his golden classics from his song book like Hamadi, Namugaanyi, Tonsunguwala Toyomba, Violet, Abato and did the unthinkable with them in a high-tech recording studio.
The adventurous kids, in a bid to refine the songs for the young generation, gave the old compositions hard kicks with modern beats.
Usually being somebody's son or daughter does not in any way guarantee that you can be as good as your father. However, according to producer Tshaka Mayanja, the new versions of Elly Wamala's songs are more digestible than the older ones.
Now that is too radical an observation. But come to think of it, Tshaka Mayanja could be right to an extent. Technically, you would not call any of Elly Wamala's children greater singers than their father.
But they have done what their father failed to do. Wamala wanted to sound like no one else. In his quest to sound 'original', he was afraid of exploring new music territory.
Being older than the producers who laid down his tracks, he dictated to them what he wanted us to hear. At the end of the day, his songs, were carried off by the sheer artistry of his words and the beauty of his voice than the instrumentation.
Although his favourite producer Innocent Kayizi did a good job, the arrangements were not that sophisticated. They lacked the necessary finesse and discipline.
Wamala's children have, however, shown more creativity.
They have broken down his songs into RnB, Lovers Rock and even kindergarten Euro-reggae, the type that made Ace of Base and Dr Alban famous.
The juxtaposition of Wamala's Afro pop rhythms with their modern pulse has made the new version of these songs sensuous, funky and irresistibly tuneful.
Hamadi, a hilarious track about a poor Arab boy eking out a living in a foreign land, is one of those classic old-time hits.
But there was nothing Arabic in the original version by Elly Wamala. The producers of the new version managed to morph idiosyncrasies of the Middle East with the thrill of RnB in the arrangements.
The central force that moves Namugaanyi forward is full-blown, reggae off-shoot called Lover's Rock. The bass and drums are as thick and despite the fact that the brass is synthetic, it manages to sound natural.
Tonsunguwala Toyomba was made RnB through and is also patched with hip-hop scratches. On this track, Fiona is supremely confident with herself although her voice lacks the nuances and subtlety that made up Wamala's vocal authority.
Viola has a more rich orchestrated reggae sound than the original. Spageon Wamala is supremely confident of himself. He delivers the essence of Elly Wamala's formula-relaxed and majestic singing.
Although his lungs are not as strong as his father's, he still manages to project Elly Wamala's personality and attitude with beguiling ease you might think it is the old man crooning.
With this album, it is official Elly Wamala is alive and well. Tune in to the History of Music show on Vision Voice tomorrow from 11:00am to l:00pm and join host Joseph Batte and his panel comprising of Robert Segawa, Joe Tabula, Jocylene Keko and David Mukalazi as they talk about Elly Wamala and the new version of his song by his children.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
