The beauty of Walter Koga’s nyatiti stories

Live music venues that support Afro-fusion and traditional music are hard to come by in Nairobi, with the French cultural institution and the Thursday Night Live concert series by music promoter Abdi Rashid Jibril at J’s Fresh Bar & Kitchen now considered the only venues that welcome such artists.

The Walter Koga was a rare opportunity for the musician, whose last performance was in February, to hold a tribute show for the late Ayub Ogada. The musician played nine songs from his catalogue, whose themes include love and social responsibility. His raspy vocals were accompanied by congas, electric drums, the dunde ohangla traditional drums, bass and guitar.

In what is commonly dubbed Afro-fusion, Koga’s performance demonstrates great respect for tradition. This was no surprise. He was discovered in 2008 under the Spotlight on Kenyan Music Volume 4 project, which was initiated by the Alliance Française and Ketebul Music in 2005. The project focused on identifying musicians exploring the traditional nuances of Kenyan music.

At Alliance Française on Wednesday, Koga quickly established a strong presence onstage. The first half of his performance was vocal-laden and saw the artists don the ngara (ankle bells), which grabbed the audience’s attention.The second half of the performance saw him playing the nyatiti, an eight-stringed traditional instrument from the western part of Kenya, in perfect coordination with the ngara, his fingers moving with speed and precision.

He charmed the audience with stories from his village of Nyakach. Before playing ‘Matunglu’, the name given to a mad man in the village, Koga insisted that people with psychological disorders needed to be taken care of by the rest of society.

“Matunglu was a mad man, he used to make everybody happy, but society neglected him and he died,” Koga said. This particular composition was pensive and the audience was seated. But he brought the music lovers back to the dance floor with ‘Mtoto Mzuri’, a song about a beautiful woman.

The evening also gave his conga player the opportunity to display his virtuosic skills with exquisite timing and variations, which made the instruments speak with eloquence.

As with any good performer, Koga and his band gave the crowd what they wanted: an engaging and satisfying show. However, his stage performance would be improved further by the introduction of a female backing singer to harmonically complement his gruff timbre.

Speaking to Music In Africa at the end of the performance, the head of cultural affairs at Alliance Française Nairobi, Harsita Waters, said: “An awesome concert by Walter Koga, blending traditional nyatiti rhythms to modern beats. A joy to hear, feel and move to true Kenyan beats.”