{"product_id":"various-thum-nyatiti-recordings-from-western-kenya-1930-1970","title":"Various – Thum Nyatiti: Recordings From Western Kenya 1930-1970","description":"\u003cp\u003eLabel: Dagoretti – DG47\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Mono\u003cbr\u003eCountry: USA \u0026amp; Canada\u003cbr\u003eReleased: 30 Jul 2023\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Folk, World, \u0026amp; Country\u003cbr\u003eStyle: African\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModern Ethnographic record recorded by the great Michigan label Dagoretti Records. (NM)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe nyatiti is the eight stringed lyre of the Luo people of Western Kenya and is the best known traditional music in Kenya. This collection of restored and remastered recordings from the early and mid 20th century mark the first time that nyatiti music has been documented and made widely available to a worldwide audience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNyatiti music’s infectious and hypnotic sounds are unforgettable. The driving beat of the nyatiti rings of far off styles of Western dance and techno music. Nyatiti players are highly respected performers in both rural and urban Kenya are called to show up at weddings, funerals and drinking halls and sing songs in tribute, in remembrance and for people to drink and dance to. Nyatiti music can still be heard to this day all over Kenya, but these recordings represent the unique sound of the first half of the 20th century, and the last visages of the sounds that existed for millennia previous before the music would change to adapt to a changing world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe record features classic players such as Ogola Opot, who would go on to define the Nyatiti sound for the genre’s popular resurgence in the 1970s and 80s. Opot was considered the grandfather of the sound that most Kenyans would associate with nyatiti music. Captain Oluoch, Opondo Mugoye and Okelo Mugubit were all famous players who were asked at some point to sit down and record for many of the fledgling record labels of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of these recordings were made by British and Indian entrepreneurs, who sold 78 rpm records to foreign and domestic record buyers. These records were in part intended to document what was seen as an exotic and possibly dying music in colonial Kenya but enjoyed by Afro-Kenyans who presumably listened to these records at parties or through radio. Unfortunately, not much is known about the origin of these records or who bought them. The scant information included on the records make tracing the roots of this music difficult.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on accounts of records made in the 1970s during the 45rpm record boom in Kenya, we can speculate that the recording process was somewhat unnatural for these players. Nyatiti music, like many other musical traditions worldwide, includes long expositions that last as long as an audience will have them. The 3 minute format of the 78 was likely quite strange for some of these players, who might not have even gotten started with an audience until the 10 or 20 minute mark.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe photograph on the cover features an unidentified nyatiti player from 1936 playing in a traditional manner. He is seated on a small stool, close to the ground, playing and singing with his foot percussion and wearing a traditional had dress that is still associated with nyatiti music today. While the instrument has evolved since this picture was taken (it became smaller and higher in pitch in response to the introduction of guitars), the sounds you hear on this collection form the basis of the nyatiti music that became popularized in the 1970s and '80s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese recordings and the subsequent remastering process capture and bring new life to the rhythmic and trance like sound of the instrument. We are extremely proud to be able to present this first collection of exclusively nyatiti recordings to the public. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA1 Tito Omondi– J Nayau 2:33\u003cbr\u003eA2 Nyawaga Mgele– Onyiego Obara 2:30\u003cbr\u003eA3 Ogola Opot*– Onyango Wasera 2:40\u003cbr\u003eA4 Captain Oluoch– Aduor 2:56\u003cbr\u003eA5 Oloo– Adika 3:02\u003cbr\u003eA6 Opondo Mugoye– Odhiambo Otieno 2:48\u003cbr\u003eA7 Oluoch Ngesa– Obiro Olenda 2:35\u003cbr\u003eA8 Opondo Mugoye– Odhiambo Otieno v2 2:44\u003cbr\u003eA9 Okelo Mugubi– Ohala 3:02\u003cbr\u003eB1 Tito Omondi– Mulonga 2:41\u003cbr\u003eB2 Nyawaga Mgele– Peter Okola 2:46\u003cbr\u003eB3 Ogola Opot*– Ginaa 2:44\u003cbr\u003eB4 Captain Oluoch– Obora 2:38\u003cbr\u003eB5 Oloo– Odeng 3:07\u003cbr\u003eB6 Opondo Mugoye– Owiti Otende 2:49\u003cbr\u003eB7 Oluoch Ngesa– Ajuang Osodhh 2:40\u003cbr\u003eB8 Opondo Mugoye– Owiti Otende v2 2:44\u003cbr\u003eB9 Okelo Mugubi– Ondoro 2:57\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"All Night Flight Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55753010676094,"sku":"DG47","price":26.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/7755\/6791\/files\/IMG_0703.jpg?v=1750236665","url":"https:\/\/allnightflightrecords.com\/products\/various-thum-nyatiti-recordings-from-western-kenya-1930-1970","provider":"All Night Flight Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}