Pavin in Dad Alex Mukulu’s footsteps
Jul 08, 2004
Not many know him in the musical arena. Palvin Mukulu, however, has been in the performing arts since 1999. He has hitherto made headway in dancing and acting at the climax of which he even landed a cameo role in a Rwandan genocide feature film, Sometimes In April.
By Sebidde Kiryowa
Not many know him in the musical arena. Palvin Mukulu, however, has been in the performing arts since 1999. He has hitherto made headway in dancing and acting at the climax of which he even landed a cameo role in a Rwandan genocide feature film, Sometimes In April.
But Mukulu, a born-again Christian and son of veteran theatre actor/writer/director and singer, Alex Mukulu, has also gradually but steadily been making progress in music for the past few months. His maiden single, Tumusabe (Let’s take it to God in prayer), a pleasant marriage of reggae and zouk was released to radio late last year and has since received a fair share of airplay, especially on Christian radio. “This song is not a Gospel song per se, but it is a positive song about moral decay in society. People are ready to do just about anything to get money. They have gone into witchcraft and other undesirable things. Consequently, they have forgotten God. In this song, I’m reminding them to turn to God for their every need,†Palvin says.
Written by Mukulu himself, the song was produced by Andrew Kiwanuka, himself a budding singer, at AV-1 Studio.
Mukulu says he was drawn into music because, compared to dancing and acting, it gave him more creative freedom:
“In acting, you need a lot of coordination and your overall success depends a lot on input from the rest of the team. A solo musical career, however, is different in that all you need is a voice, a song and a great producer to make a record.â€
Mukulu, who, until recently, was part of Kasanga Miracle Centre mass choir, says his first attempt at singing was in a karaoke club (Sabrina’s Pub), where he won a certificate of participation in the competition. He credits Kasanga Miracle Centre for honing his vocal skills. His biggest influence and inspiration has been solely his dad. “He’s my hero. Every time things fail to work out, I go to him for advise. He shows me the direction.â€
Mukulu credits the late Philly Bongoley Lutaaya for his first musical influence: “That man had an incredibly powerful and inspiring voice. That aside, his composing power was awesome. He had a very compelling way of organising his lyrics. To top it all, he was a producer,†he says.
“Lutaaya’s compositions have staying power. They are classics. To this day, his Christmas album Tumusinze is still the best-selling local Christmas album. That means he is still the best seller. If you listen closely to many of today’s musicians, you will detect his influence. I think he was a musical genius; the best that there could ever be. He was a musical legend.†Mukulu’s first involvement in the performing artists was back when he was still a teenager in Lubiri Secondary school. He started out dancing. He also took part in the school drama, Uganda Crisis.
After high school, instead of joining college, he went for voice training because he felt that was his calling.
However, he was disappointed with the remuneration, it simply did not pay to sing in Uganda. He then decided to try his hand out at professional acting with the Diamond Production. This was only after he had starred in Diana, a theatrical production his father staged at the national theatre in the 90s.
However, he soon quit and formed a theatrical group called Abaana Ba Mukulu (Mukulu’s children) whose sole production Kerere Ya Sekukulu, written by actress Freda Serwadda, was a moderate hit. He went on to join (the now) Kyambogo University, where he pursued a course in designing before he joined Kasanga Miracle Centre in 2001. Mukulu says he will release a new single soon, after which he will embark on his first solo album.
Ends
Not many know him in the musical arena. Palvin Mukulu, however, has been in the performing arts since 1999. He has hitherto made headway in dancing and acting at the climax of which he even landed a cameo role in a Rwandan genocide feature film, Sometimes In April.
But Mukulu, a born-again Christian and son of veteran theatre actor/writer/director and singer, Alex Mukulu, has also gradually but steadily been making progress in music for the past few months. His maiden single, Tumusabe (Let’s take it to God in prayer), a pleasant marriage of reggae and zouk was released to radio late last year and has since received a fair share of airplay, especially on Christian radio. “This song is not a Gospel song per se, but it is a positive song about moral decay in society. People are ready to do just about anything to get money. They have gone into witchcraft and other undesirable things. Consequently, they have forgotten God. In this song, I’m reminding them to turn to God for their every need,†Palvin says.
Written by Mukulu himself, the song was produced by Andrew Kiwanuka, himself a budding singer, at AV-1 Studio.
Mukulu says he was drawn into music because, compared to dancing and acting, it gave him more creative freedom:
“In acting, you need a lot of coordination and your overall success depends a lot on input from the rest of the team. A solo musical career, however, is different in that all you need is a voice, a song and a great producer to make a record.â€
Mukulu, who, until recently, was part of Kasanga Miracle Centre mass choir, says his first attempt at singing was in a karaoke club (Sabrina’s Pub), where he won a certificate of participation in the competition. He credits Kasanga Miracle Centre for honing his vocal skills. His biggest influence and inspiration has been solely his dad. “He’s my hero. Every time things fail to work out, I go to him for advise. He shows me the direction.â€
Mukulu credits the late Philly Bongoley Lutaaya for his first musical influence: “That man had an incredibly powerful and inspiring voice. That aside, his composing power was awesome. He had a very compelling way of organising his lyrics. To top it all, he was a producer,†he says.
“Lutaaya’s compositions have staying power. They are classics. To this day, his Christmas album Tumusinze is still the best-selling local Christmas album. That means he is still the best seller. If you listen closely to many of today’s musicians, you will detect his influence. I think he was a musical genius; the best that there could ever be. He was a musical legend.†Mukulu’s first involvement in the performing artists was back when he was still a teenager in Lubiri Secondary school. He started out dancing. He also took part in the school drama, Uganda Crisis.
After high school, instead of joining college, he went for voice training because he felt that was his calling.
However, he was disappointed with the remuneration, it simply did not pay to sing in Uganda. He then decided to try his hand out at professional acting with the Diamond Production. This was only after he had starred in Diana, a theatrical production his father staged at the national theatre in the 90s.
However, he soon quit and formed a theatrical group called Abaana Ba Mukulu (Mukulu’s children) whose sole production Kerere Ya Sekukulu, written by actress Freda Serwadda, was a moderate hit. He went on to join (the now) Kyambogo University, where he pursued a course in designing before he joined Kasanga Miracle Centre in 2001. Mukulu says he will release a new single soon, after which he will embark on his first solo album.
Ends