Katatumba's true home-coming
Feb 05, 2009
THE return of Angella Katatumba might not be big news for those following new trends on the local music scene. It will, however, pique the curiosity of anybody to learn that the singer has recorded her first solo Luganda single.
By Gilbert Mwijuke
THE return of Angella Katatumba might not be big news for those following new trends on the local music scene. It will, however, pique the curiosity of anybody to learn that the singer has recorded her first solo Luganda single.
Since her arrival from the US in 2004, Katatumba has released numerous tracks, most of which, with the exception of Nze Nvako, the duet with Bebe Cool, have been sung in English.
Not that she has deliberately stuck to singing in English; it is the only language that Katatumba can speak fluently. The singer spent her early years in Nairobi, Kenya and went to the US as a pre-teenager. She only returned to Uganda at the age of 26.
But after churning out a couple of fairly successful English tracks — not forgetting her little-noticed debut eight-song album, Am Glad Am Alive, released last year — Katatumba was determined to do something different.
“For a very long time, I was doing music that only catered for the international audience. I felt it was important to record music that appeals to the local audience,†Katatumba, the only daughter of the Honorary Consul of Pakistan, Bonny Katatumba, says.
To achieve this, Katatumba employed the services of reggae singer/songwriter, Henry Tigan, who penned for her Ngenze Noono, a song about a post-adolescent who is teetering on the brink of moving out of her parents’ home to begin a new chapter of her life — marriage.
The song may not fit well in the mould of some great local love ballads as sung by the likes of Juliana Kanyomozi or Iryn Namubiru, but it is definitely catchy — the kind that will easily get lodged in any listener’s brain.
The production of the song is really good — thanks to First Love Studios’ Paul Kim — and its lyrics exude maturity.
“I have always admired Tigan’s songwriting. His style suits my voice and his lyrics are mature,†Katatumba says.
Ngenze Noono is already receiving airplay on local FM radio stations.
THE return of Angella Katatumba might not be big news for those following new trends on the local music scene. It will, however, pique the curiosity of anybody to learn that the singer has recorded her first solo Luganda single.
Since her arrival from the US in 2004, Katatumba has released numerous tracks, most of which, with the exception of Nze Nvako, the duet with Bebe Cool, have been sung in English.
Not that she has deliberately stuck to singing in English; it is the only language that Katatumba can speak fluently. The singer spent her early years in Nairobi, Kenya and went to the US as a pre-teenager. She only returned to Uganda at the age of 26.
But after churning out a couple of fairly successful English tracks — not forgetting her little-noticed debut eight-song album, Am Glad Am Alive, released last year — Katatumba was determined to do something different.
“For a very long time, I was doing music that only catered for the international audience. I felt it was important to record music that appeals to the local audience,†Katatumba, the only daughter of the Honorary Consul of Pakistan, Bonny Katatumba, says.
To achieve this, Katatumba employed the services of reggae singer/songwriter, Henry Tigan, who penned for her Ngenze Noono, a song about a post-adolescent who is teetering on the brink of moving out of her parents’ home to begin a new chapter of her life — marriage.
The song may not fit well in the mould of some great local love ballads as sung by the likes of Juliana Kanyomozi or Iryn Namubiru, but it is definitely catchy — the kind that will easily get lodged in any listener’s brain.
The production of the song is really good — thanks to First Love Studios’ Paul Kim — and its lyrics exude maturity.
“I have always admired Tigan’s songwriting. His style suits my voice and his lyrics are mature,†Katatumba says.
Ngenze Noono is already receiving airplay on local FM radio stations.