Makadem unleashes ‘new- age’ Ohangla fusion music

By: Emmanuel Mwendwa

As a beginner, his music career started off on a rather unusual footing. He would somehow manage to secure curtain-raiser gigs for visiting international stars despite fact he had no album to his credit. In 1999 – riding on a popularity crest spurred on by the airplay success of his signature raggamuffin single Mr. Lololova – artiste Charles Odero Ademson aka Makadem pranced on stage minutes before UK-based reggae star Maxi Priest’s headliner performance at Beats of the Season showcase.

A year later, when popular Congolese musician Awilo Longomba graced the event’s 2000 edition as main act – Makadem was, yet again on the list of curtain-raisers. In 2001, 2002 and 2004 – the artiste was on the podium prior to respective appearances by top Jamaican reggae stars Gregory Isaacs, Mighty Culture band fronted by Joseph Hills and crooner Glen Washington at the Reggae Summerfest concerts.

But for Makadem, most exciting of the curtain-raiser gigs was as one of the 2005 Spotlight on Kenyan Music series finalists - sharing the stage with Paris-based Congolese afro-fusion artiste Lokua Kanza. “At this point – I was on verge of jump-starting my recording career. I could feel the creative energy bubbling within, urged on by desire to embark on the journey to become a star on my own right, like the established foreign artistes”, he enthuses. And watching Makadem in subsequent concerts at varied venues in Nairobi, it is evident he has indeed come full circle; from a sought-after curtain-raiser to being the main act. “It is unbelievable this guy was a few years ago popular as a rapper – what a transformation! This is amazing and impressive. Live band shows are the only way Kenyan music will measure up to international standards evident across rest of Africa. The sad part, is the fact young, talented and skillful youths like Makadem are hardly getting support from the relevant government agencies”, observed Mike Situma, an excited reveler at one of his cencerts.

The artiste’s stature locally rose a notch higher on the heels of launch of his debut 12-track CD titled Ohanglaman. Songs on this CD include Ohangla Man, Kisumu Bound Bus, That Comb, Sami Hooyi, Nya Malo, Kalamba Jiggy, Nyaktiti, Priscilla, Mandolina, Dhi Ndalo, My Dota and Nya Nairobi City. This album has so far, elicited favourable reviews, one alluding to songs therein as “..heralding a new age for Kenyan music..” Makadem describes the brand of compositions on the release – as a style he has christened Anglo-Ohangla.

“I opted to create a mixture of traditional Luo Ohangla, nyatiti beats and rhythms sprinkled with African and western influences. Listening keenly to the CD – one can also notice blend of various local fusion styles. There are bits of traditional adaptations drawn from Giriama and Teso communities. I’m a versatile artiste, I can even compose taarab music”, says Makadem, in an exclusive interview with Showbizeastafrica.

The artiste’s resilience has been the bedrock of his fledging career. After being turned away at various city studios with his earlier compositions – the tide turned around in 2003 when he met producer Taabu Osusa. Not only did he offer to assist him record an album, but the one-time band manager for Samba Mapangala’s Orchestra Virunga, opened a door of opportunities for Makadem. “I was part of the Nairobi City Ensemble band, which traveled to Djibouti for the Fest-Horn Festival during December 2004. Osusa was willing to facilitate production of my album as long as I did not work on rap, hip-hop or raggamuffin songs. He was impressed that I could blend Luo and English lyrics with relative ease”, he says. And during early 2005, he embarked on gradual conversion from rap into being an articulate composer of afro-fusion inclined music. As one listens to songs on Ohanglaman – the artiste’s artistic maturity is unmistakable.

“Changing my style from being predominant raggamuffin to afro-traditional was an enriching and eye-opening experience,” notes Makadem. “I was compelled to trace my cultural music roots. My songs borrow extensively from ohangla, nyatiti, and dodo – all ancient traditional Luo rhythms. I have infused them with modern, urban-driven African beats complemented by heavily accented Luo-English vocals to inject an indigenous flavour to the album”.

The launch of his debut CD marked a significant achievement for Makadem. He says: “At any level new album launches are a necessity. I earned mileage and competitive edge as a recording artiste. I was finally in the spotlight on my own footing – not as a curtain raiser. Thereafter, I was looked up to and acknowledged as a serious composer and performer. But this is just the beginning of a long journey to international music charts and the world stage”.

Recorded at GoDown Arts Centre-based Ketebul Studios and distributed through AI records, Ohanglaman CD is unquestionably one of most notable productions released on local music market over the recent past.

emmanuel@showbizeastafrica.com