Billy
Saro Harrison is the second-born of the Harrison brothers who form Them
Mushrooms. They are a Nairobi-based band which hails from Mombasa.
Harrison made a very interesting observation on television last week
when he asked to explain the difference between music making now and in
the past. Saro, the bass guitarist, flanked by elder brother Teddy
Kalanda Harrison (Tenor saxaphone, percussion, composer, vocals),
younger brothers George Ziro Harrison (playing guitar on the TV set) and
John "Bishop" Katana Harrison (keyboards, composer and vocals), said
the kids coming into music today are making music for now.They have little
thought about what comes next or much care as to how they can make music
that will stand the test of time and still be relevant in 10 or more
years. In short he seemed to suggest the nature of the industry has been
changed by those in charge of it.
The immediate
commercial aspects of music have become the priority. So music of true
expression has no place in a world consumed by the race and chase for
legal tender.This was confirmed recently through collected Spotify data
which illustrated how short our musical attention spans have become.
There's only about a 50 per cent chance we'll actually make it to the
end of a song. So if people are barely listening to a song once all the
way through, they're likely not returning to build those emotional
connections.
If they do, they
might not have a foundational experience on which to form them.So then,
if those, like me, who listen to music seeking the hooks that transport
us back in time to more pleasant or less pleasant times cannot find
them, how can we be expected to stick with it?Having grown up musically
with Them Mushrooms, I have a fair recollection of their journey. It has
been one fraught with challenges, tragedy and super success. They lost
youngest brother Dennis Kalume Harrison who played drums through illness
and later, their main inspiration, their mum, who bought them their
first set of equipment once convinced they were serious about music
making. On the coastal beach hotel circuit, there was little time to get
creative.
Yet the brothers
elevated themselves above their contemporaries. This they did simply by
opting not to be purveyors of already existing international music. They
concentrated on making their own. The Mombasa music atmosphere was
stifling and competitive. It got worse for groups playing unfamiliar
personal music to audiences that sought near perfect renditions of the
familiar.
So when Tabu
Frantal's Vundumuna contract ran out at Nairobi's Carnivore restaurant,
Them Mushrooms, playing music that could not be readily copied, were the
obvious choice, cruising through their audition with consummate ease.
It was, however, a leap into the unknown for Them Mushrooms who had
hitherto ventured into the Kenyan capital for odd performances at places
like
The Starlight Night
Club and the Silver Springs Hotel. The relocation to Nairobi meant they
had to cut their musical teeth anew with a truly demanding audience.
This was no problem. They already had a song in high rotation. Jambo
Bwana, penned by Teddy, had caught the fancy of the world.
The song itself has
an interesting history of its own. While doing the beach hotel circuit,
they would introduce it between sets of the familiar. The call out for
it by the tourists encouraged the band. One day, a Nairobi record
executive on vacation saw Them Mushrooms perform it. The reaction must
have impressed him. He left his business card with: "Come to Nairobi we
record that song!"
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni