Afropop Worldwide

Owiny Sigoma Band is a prolonged collaboration between pop musicians from the U.K. and traditional musicians from Kenya: Louis and Jesse Hackett, Tom Skinner from England  and Joseph Nyamungu and Charles Owoko, masters of traditional Luo instruments, the nyatiti harp and the nyidoungue drums respectively, from Kenya. The group has been recording and touring for five years. This short film documents the Londoners' return to Kenya, following the group as they travel through rural Kenya, rehearsing and recording along the way. From traditional ceremonies in remote villages to electro-mashups and intense conversations, this documentary is a real "behind the scenes" look at how this cross-cultural collaboration really works in practice. The results are on their latest album, Nyanza, which came out on Brownswood Recordings earlier this year. The film is dedicated to Charles Owoko, who passed away Oct. 1, 2015. You can read our review of Nyanza and Owiny Sigoma Band's excellent 2013 album, Power Punch, here.