Uganda’s Great Talent Joel Sebunjo On Coke Studio Africa This Week

CokeStudio Africa (www.cokestudioafrica.com) is a music television series produced by the Coca-Cola Company featuring live studio-recorded music performances by well-established African artists.

It brings together artists from different genres, eras and regions to create a modern and authentic sound through musical fusion. The purpose of Coke Studio is to reinvent the way music can capture the spirit of a nation, opening hearts and minds, and of course, Happiness. Coke Studio Africa airs in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania & Nigeria.

This week Joel Sebunjo from Uganda will be featuring on the Coke Studio Africa Artist Takeover. He will be live on the Coke Studio Africa Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/cokestudioafrica) and Twitter Handle (www.twitter.com/CokeStudioAfr) on Friday the 14th of February from 3 PM to 4 PM where he will interact 1 on 1 with the Coke Studio Africa fans. You can get the opportunity to ask Joel their questions on these two platforms using the hash tag #AskSebunjo

Joel Sebunjo is one of Uganda’s most talented music exports he plays the Kora, the Endongo, the Kalimba and is also a singer. The Kora is a West Africa string harp built from a large calabash covered with cow skin; Joel learnt to play this instrument out of interest in what it can do and has now become the only artist in East Africa that has specialized in that instrument. The Endongo is a Ugandan bowl lyre made from the skin of a lizard.

The Kalimba is a thumb piano popular throughout sub-Saharan Africa. From those instruments alone you can tell that Joel is one artist with an affinity to traditional African music and his talents have taken him around the world. Known in Kampala as the ‘Youssou N’Dour’of Uganda, Joel Sebunjo has been instrumental in promoting and popularizing world music movement in that country. He has two albums all which are fusions of both East African and West African sounds and a celebration of music as a whole.

His first album Heart of a Griot was released in 2010 and his sophomore album Ganda Mande came out in 2012. Early in 2013 Joel Sebunjo won the prestigious Visas pour la Création Award in Paris, France that earned him a 3 month residence with many other artists in France. Through that time he met and worked with a long list of other artists from around the world. He has performed alongside legendary artistes like Yossou N’dour, Salif Keita, Miriam Makeba, Oliver Mtukudzi and many more.

Check out Joel Sebunje in Coke Studio Season 1 episode 6 with Miss Karun