Old School Kenyan Guitar Music

Before Benga: Kenya Dry

Spurred on by the idea of getting a lot of the stranger music I listen to out there, I’ve decided to start posting one song a day (barring days when i’m offline) in hopes of garnering interest in some of this stuff.

Being a guitarist into funky fingerpicking and the like, this first track I chose is an example of African fingerstyle done in an incredible way. Off of the great compilation Before Benga vol. 1: Kenya Dry, which, along with the chilled-out-yet-electrified Vol. 2: Nairobi Sound seems to be impossible to find (I first heard about it from the excellent and edifying music blog bennloxo.com), this track by Wiliamu Osale boggles my mind. I believe Matt of Benn Loxo already posted this song a while back but it’s no longer accessible, and since it’s pretty much one of the coolest songs ever, I decided to put it up. So groovin’, so percussive, so smooth, so raw. Also difficult to figure out how to break down and play! If anyone has any information on Wiliamu Osale, please send it my way.

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