Ngoni nail it with ‘Nina omwami’
Jan 29, 2009
FEW artistes have managed to march the success of the dynamic duo of Ngoni since they blazed on the scene in 2003. <br>While we were all obsessed with Afro pop, kadongo kamu and dancehall, this Salaama Road-based duo of Pato and Aydee instead breezed on
By Joseph Batte
FEW artistes have managed to march the success of the dynamic duo of Ngoni since they blazed on the scene in 2003.
While we were all obsessed with Afro pop, kadongo kamu and dancehall, this Salaama Road-based duo of Pato and Aydee instead breezed on the scene with cute sing-along cuts with intoxicating zouk beats like Nasiima Gwe, Ndi ku Diggi and Nalulungi.
Ngoni’s brand of zouk was quite different. Although it had all the characteristics — irresistible dance beats, strong bass lines and straight-forward harmonies — it was cleverly fused with RnB and dancehall.
Today, Ngoni are the patron saints of this high-tech fusion music which was crafted in their Goodenuff Studios that Aydee rigged up in his garage.
Continuing in their tradition of radio-friendly hits, Ngoni have nailed it yet again with a single titled Nina Omwami featuring Desire Luzinda.
Nina Omwami is brutally simple. It revolves in only three major keys –– the dominant, sub-dominant and dominant7. But, therein lays its strength.
Combined with a glorious tune and simple lyrics and chorus, the song seizes your brain in a ruthless grip. It is powered with a relentless beat that is certain to send you dancing.
There is also a lot to chew on in ‘Nina’ like Luzinda’s vocal dexterity which enables her to fit very well in the songs. She adds colour to the song. Her intimate singing complements Pato’s nasal muezzin-crooning.
The song is also educative. The story revolves around a loaded lawyer and a young beautiful married woman. The lawyer thinks he can win her heart with his money.
The woman tells him to get lost. The moral of the song is: Money can’t buy love.
Aydee skillfully handles the balance of the track’s production by giving it that shiny synthetic sheen that is very closely associated with zouk music.
I would have loved to hear a bridge towards the end of the song and more variation in the orchestration, to prepare me for the climax.
But when the music is this groovy, who cares about that? Conclusion? Ngoni have a gem with a word ‘hit’ written over it.
FEW artistes have managed to march the success of the dynamic duo of Ngoni since they blazed on the scene in 2003.
While we were all obsessed with Afro pop, kadongo kamu and dancehall, this Salaama Road-based duo of Pato and Aydee instead breezed on the scene with cute sing-along cuts with intoxicating zouk beats like Nasiima Gwe, Ndi ku Diggi and Nalulungi.
Ngoni’s brand of zouk was quite different. Although it had all the characteristics — irresistible dance beats, strong bass lines and straight-forward harmonies — it was cleverly fused with RnB and dancehall.
Today, Ngoni are the patron saints of this high-tech fusion music which was crafted in their Goodenuff Studios that Aydee rigged up in his garage.
Continuing in their tradition of radio-friendly hits, Ngoni have nailed it yet again with a single titled Nina Omwami featuring Desire Luzinda.
Nina Omwami is brutally simple. It revolves in only three major keys –– the dominant, sub-dominant and dominant7. But, therein lays its strength.
Combined with a glorious tune and simple lyrics and chorus, the song seizes your brain in a ruthless grip. It is powered with a relentless beat that is certain to send you dancing.
There is also a lot to chew on in ‘Nina’ like Luzinda’s vocal dexterity which enables her to fit very well in the songs. She adds colour to the song. Her intimate singing complements Pato’s nasal muezzin-crooning.
The song is also educative. The story revolves around a loaded lawyer and a young beautiful married woman. The lawyer thinks he can win her heart with his money.
The woman tells him to get lost. The moral of the song is: Money can’t buy love.
Aydee skillfully handles the balance of the track’s production by giving it that shiny synthetic sheen that is very closely associated with zouk music.
I would have loved to hear a bridge towards the end of the song and more variation in the orchestration, to prepare me for the climax.
But when the music is this groovy, who cares about that? Conclusion? Ngoni have a gem with a word ‘hit’ written over it.