Magoola Unveils <em>Atwibembe</em>
Dec 26, 2002
It was a new music direction, band, album and attitude for local songstress Rachael Magoola. On Wednesday night at the Hotel Africana, the former lead singer for the Afrigo Band launched her fourth album, Atwibembe, and what she hoped would be a new recog
By Kalungi Kabuye
It was a new music direction, band, album and attitude for local songstress Rachael Magoola. On Wednesday night at the Hotel Africana, the former lead singer for the Afrigo Band launched her fourth album, Atwibembe, and what she hoped would be a new recognition.
It has been a difficult year for the singer since she left Afrigo and struck out on her own. But it was also a learning experience.
“It has not been easy, but it has been challenging and fulfilling at the same time,†she told the packed crowd that paid sh20,000 for the opportunity to attend the launch. “Sometime you have to go through fire to appreciate what the good things in life are. This past year, I think I’ve gone through the fire, and only glad to be able to be on stage again here today.â€
Magoola has been struggling to gain an identity of her own, away from the band that launched her career and which she was part of for so long.
The band she set up also struggled, and 80% of the members have since left, including former Afrigo member Joanita Nansukusa, with whom she left the band to strike out on their own. Nansukusa is reportedly now in the UK. Only Jessica Nanfuka, Jude Mugerwa and Joyce Namwanje have stuck with her.
The album with which she launched her solo career, Tonyiiga, did not do as well as expected, although the song Voto is belatedly gaining the recognition it should have had right off.
Atwibembe is an effort to find a niche of her own, and let people know there is more to her than Obangaina, her monster hit song with Afrigo.
The turn up showed that there is a strong core Magoola support base, and after the function Rachael went through the crowd like a reigning queen greeting her subjects. Guest of Honour was Mike Mukula, the Minister of State Health, and present was Klaus Holderbaum,the German Ambassador, who went knee to knee with Rachael when they did the paka chini while dancing to Obangaina.
Also present were her mother, Beatrice Magoola, Woman MP for Iganga, Afrigo Band’s Joanita Kawalya and the former Ambassador to the UN, Wanume Kibedi and his wife. There was also a strong Basoga contingent. During the launch, which was co-sponsored by Bell Lager and Simba Telecom, Magoola performed many of her best songs, including the evergreen, Kukusangana, the very first song she ever recorded.
She did several of the songs from her new album, including the sweet Abeeno, which has an interesting history. Let’s Dance is obviously a call to have a good time, while Take Me is a sort of an anthem for sickle cell sufferers. The climax was of course Obangaina, where Holderbaum took the laurels for best dancer, and won himself a copy of the new CD. Simba Telecom’s Jackie Mwangi bought an auctioned CD at sh200,000. And now Rachael will have to wait to see what kind of reaction the FM stations will have to her latest effort. Ends
It was a new music direction, band, album and attitude for local songstress Rachael Magoola. On Wednesday night at the Hotel Africana, the former lead singer for the Afrigo Band launched her fourth album, Atwibembe, and what she hoped would be a new recognition.
It has been a difficult year for the singer since she left Afrigo and struck out on her own. But it was also a learning experience.
“It has not been easy, but it has been challenging and fulfilling at the same time,†she told the packed crowd that paid sh20,000 for the opportunity to attend the launch. “Sometime you have to go through fire to appreciate what the good things in life are. This past year, I think I’ve gone through the fire, and only glad to be able to be on stage again here today.â€
Magoola has been struggling to gain an identity of her own, away from the band that launched her career and which she was part of for so long.
The band she set up also struggled, and 80% of the members have since left, including former Afrigo member Joanita Nansukusa, with whom she left the band to strike out on their own. Nansukusa is reportedly now in the UK. Only Jessica Nanfuka, Jude Mugerwa and Joyce Namwanje have stuck with her.
The album with which she launched her solo career, Tonyiiga, did not do as well as expected, although the song Voto is belatedly gaining the recognition it should have had right off.
Atwibembe is an effort to find a niche of her own, and let people know there is more to her than Obangaina, her monster hit song with Afrigo.
The turn up showed that there is a strong core Magoola support base, and after the function Rachael went through the crowd like a reigning queen greeting her subjects. Guest of Honour was Mike Mukula, the Minister of State Health, and present was Klaus Holderbaum,the German Ambassador, who went knee to knee with Rachael when they did the paka chini while dancing to Obangaina.
Also present were her mother, Beatrice Magoola, Woman MP for Iganga, Afrigo Band’s Joanita Kawalya and the former Ambassador to the UN, Wanume Kibedi and his wife. There was also a strong Basoga contingent. During the launch, which was co-sponsored by Bell Lager and Simba Telecom, Magoola performed many of her best songs, including the evergreen, Kukusangana, the very first song she ever recorded.
She did several of the songs from her new album, including the sweet Abeeno, which has an interesting history. Let’s Dance is obviously a call to have a good time, while Take Me is a sort of an anthem for sickle cell sufferers. The climax was of course Obangaina, where Holderbaum took the laurels for best dancer, and won himself a copy of the new CD. Simba Telecom’s Jackie Mwangi bought an auctioned CD at sh200,000. And now Rachael will have to wait to see what kind of reaction the FM stations will have to her latest effort. Ends