Ssemakula packs another punch with ‘Teriyo Alumirirwa’
Feb 12, 2004
In Uganda today, young musicians find it is easy to score a hit with a debut album or a single. But following it with another has always proved a daunting task.
By Joseph Batte
In Uganda today, young musicians find it is easy to score a hit with a debut album or a single. But following it with another has always proved a daunting task.
One of the problems stems from this nasty habit of riding on the success of that one release. In the long run we have seen creative juices running dry and the follow-ups turning out to be downright, similar-sounding duds.
As any music critic would say, it is very much a hit-and-miss situation that lately has had the misfortune to be more miss than hit. You know the dudes I’m talking about. Don’t you?
However, after listening to Mesach Ssemakula’s Teriyo Alumirilwa album, which was released last Monday by Lusyn Enterprises, Market Street, I came to the conclusion that this rail- thin, smoky-voiced young singer is something of a rarity.
Why? After hitting it big with Ebituwasiza and Tukwegomba Bangi, whose pulling power kept him in demand for the entire 2003, we wondered whether he could ever go to the studio again and come out with anything better than that.
We didn’t have to wait that long, he just did that with Teriyo Alumirirwa. You can obviously tell through listening to the music. It is one of the best albums that I have heard since the beginning of this year. It kept my head nodding from start to finish, I was forced to hit the ‘rewind’ button more than four times!
The winning track on this album is no doubt Teriyo Alumirirwa’. It warns us, most especially the womenfolk, on the dangers of always cocking ears to gossip. ‘Not all the advice given is well meant. Gossip destroys homes and ruins healthy relationships,’ Ssemakula warns
Kulika Baby is a very timely song one can donate as a gift to mothers or wives as a ‘thanks you’ for delivering baby. Come to think of it, this is a continent where many women die of pregnancy- related medical complications.
Ever thought about the nine months they spend carrying babies in their wombs? What about the bitter drugs they swallow throughout the period before finally sweating it out in the labour wards?
Ssemakula returns with a with a force of a tropical storm and hits at our nagging wives and inconsiderate girlfriends who upon every little disagreement or shouting match between us, the one thing that springs to their mind is to park their bags and leave.
Yesiimye is a pleasant love song while Mimi Nakupenda is a bongo-flavoured track that Ssemakula wrote with an eye firmly on the Tanzanian market.
I can see him cracking that market because in my humble opinion, instrumentation is even better than the stuff that comes from ‘Bongoland.’ However, the entire album’s success owes very much to his song writing as to the production.
Hats off then for producers Andrew Kiwanuka and Steve Jean of AV1 Studios. These two beat masters, especially Kiwanuka, did a fine job in ensuring that it provides immense enjoyment in more ways than just one-the grooves, the sound and the production.
Talking of production, Teriyo Alumirirwa retains that genre the fuses rumba, reggae and zouk. It has also got this murky, smooth production – I mean murky, but in a good way. What are you waiting for then? Get yourself a copy from Lusyn Enterprises or any music outlet in the city.
In Uganda today, young musicians find it is easy to score a hit with a debut album or a single. But following it with another has always proved a daunting task.
One of the problems stems from this nasty habit of riding on the success of that one release. In the long run we have seen creative juices running dry and the follow-ups turning out to be downright, similar-sounding duds.
As any music critic would say, it is very much a hit-and-miss situation that lately has had the misfortune to be more miss than hit. You know the dudes I’m talking about. Don’t you?
However, after listening to Mesach Ssemakula’s Teriyo Alumirilwa album, which was released last Monday by Lusyn Enterprises, Market Street, I came to the conclusion that this rail- thin, smoky-voiced young singer is something of a rarity.
Why? After hitting it big with Ebituwasiza and Tukwegomba Bangi, whose pulling power kept him in demand for the entire 2003, we wondered whether he could ever go to the studio again and come out with anything better than that.
We didn’t have to wait that long, he just did that with Teriyo Alumirirwa. You can obviously tell through listening to the music. It is one of the best albums that I have heard since the beginning of this year. It kept my head nodding from start to finish, I was forced to hit the ‘rewind’ button more than four times!
The winning track on this album is no doubt Teriyo Alumirirwa’. It warns us, most especially the womenfolk, on the dangers of always cocking ears to gossip. ‘Not all the advice given is well meant. Gossip destroys homes and ruins healthy relationships,’ Ssemakula warns
Kulika Baby is a very timely song one can donate as a gift to mothers or wives as a ‘thanks you’ for delivering baby. Come to think of it, this is a continent where many women die of pregnancy- related medical complications.
Ever thought about the nine months they spend carrying babies in their wombs? What about the bitter drugs they swallow throughout the period before finally sweating it out in the labour wards?
Ssemakula returns with a with a force of a tropical storm and hits at our nagging wives and inconsiderate girlfriends who upon every little disagreement or shouting match between us, the one thing that springs to their mind is to park their bags and leave.
Yesiimye is a pleasant love song while Mimi Nakupenda is a bongo-flavoured track that Ssemakula wrote with an eye firmly on the Tanzanian market.
I can see him cracking that market because in my humble opinion, instrumentation is even better than the stuff that comes from ‘Bongoland.’ However, the entire album’s success owes very much to his song writing as to the production.
Hats off then for producers Andrew Kiwanuka and Steve Jean of AV1 Studios. These two beat masters, especially Kiwanuka, did a fine job in ensuring that it provides immense enjoyment in more ways than just one-the grooves, the sound and the production.
Talking of production, Teriyo Alumirirwa retains that genre the fuses rumba, reggae and zouk. It has also got this murky, smooth production – I mean murky, but in a good way. What are you waiting for then? Get yourself a copy from Lusyn Enterprises or any music outlet in the city.