Yunasi Band Signs With Subsahara Entertainment

Congratulations to Yunasi Band for signing with one of the best music labels in 254, Sub Sahara Entertainment, this week.

They join an established and recognized label that includes some of Kenya’s most successful and internationally acclaimed artists such as Mercy Myra, Abbi, Kanja, Camp Mulla, Kusma, Tiri, Shappaman among other stellar up and coming artists such as Military Swagg Team, Sequiera and Biko.

The Yunasi Band that consists of Thobias Imani, Erick Odhiambo, Davis Ngalah and Simon Maranga has developed a unique East African music style called Sesube. Sesube is a combination of Sega, Isikuti and Benga. It takes sounds and inspirations from local Kenyan communities, cultural styles and languages and fuses those sounds with a European component. The sound is achieved by playing a variety of instruments, both traditional and modern. The band sings in several languages including Swahili, English, French, Luo, Kisii and Luhya.

Yunasi has managed to collaborate with international artists for recording and joint performances: The band collaborated with a Belgian Blues artiste, Rolandvan Campenhout, in the album, Atomic Power which won the best folk album in the 2006 Belgian ZAMU Awards. This was preceded by joint concerts in Nairobi and Belgium. They also collaborated with a French singer, Nicoletta to perform concerts in Nairobi and Paris. The band also co-performed with the South African rapper Tumi and the Volume at the Blankets and Wine festival, Nairobi.

The band boasts of awards such as Winners of the December 2007 BBC’s Next Big Thing Competition, 2004 Kisima Award (Kenya) for best afro-fusion band in Kenya and a nomination for an all-African Kora Award