Kenyan-Norwegian duo Unganisha have dropped their highly anticipated debut EP dubbed Kucheza. The dynamic duo is made up of Kenyan female Orutu player Labdi Ommes and Norwegian Electronic Music producer Bernt Isak Wærstad.
This extended playlist hosts five songs namely Chunya, Lwang’ni Hotel, Leko, Duoguru, and Koro. In this EP, Unganisha also features percussionist and drummer Kasiva Mutua in the tracks Lwang’ni Hotel, and Koro. Despite the full EP being dropped this year, Leko and Lwang’ni Hotel were released last year to positive reviews from fans.
Kucheza is the perfect example of what magic happens when experimentation, collaboration, and the fusing of different cultures meet. When explaining their EP, Unganisha members said “We called the EP Kucheza! Because that’s our approach to making music with Unganisha; we play a lot and experiment freely with few limitations. It’s never that serious… that’s our working philosophy and we have carried that spirit into the EP,”
Unganisha was formed in 2017 after Labdi was introduced to Electronic Music producer Bernt through a mutual friend. Their songs are mainly sung in Dholuo over a unique Electronic and Orutu Instrument beat. In spite of the challenges that come with being a pan-continent group, Unganisha still releases authentic sound and creative visuals. Their sound is unique, very experimental, and futuristic putting them above their peers.
Stream the full EP here.
