Uganda’s search for a musical style

Afrigo Band’s Joanita Kawalya (2nd R) performs with the rest of the group in Kampala recently. Afrigo Band has been in existence since 1975. PHOTO BY FAISWAL KASIRYE

What you need to know:

COLLECTIVE EFFORT. The responsibility for creating a national musical style cannot be apportioned to one party whether government, musicians, or the public. National musical styles are not consciously created. They come out of musical encounters between the people of a given music community that results into that set of shared traditions, conventions and principles

Since independence, the discussions about music in Uganda sometimes include the desire for a national musical style and the reasons why such a style does not exist. Unlike some other countries, for over 50 years, Uganda has not been successful at developing a musical style she can call her own.

Congo is known for Soukouss, Reggae belongs to Jamaica, Cuba is remembered for Rumba and the same can be said of many other countries of the world, yet Uganda is known for none.

The concept of a national musical style suggests a formal construction of what is musically performed and consumed by and in a given country. National musical styles, therefore, tend to give a national identity to a country.
Some of the questions that arise when we talk about our national musical style are: What is a musical style, How do musical styles emerge, Do we have a musical style, and do we need one?

The music style.
Diplock Segawa, a musician, says, “A musical style is one that evolves from a society because of the influences imported from outside the country or those adopted from the traditions of that country.” A musical style is hence recognisable by certain traditions, conventions and principles of instrumentation, vocal pattern, message, melody and rhythm that are distinct and so can be identified from other musical styles. For a trained musician, they can consist of chords that guide how the style broadly sounds and how it is organised in terms of parts, movements and progressions.

How do music styles emerge?

A musical style may come from communities that are close to homogenous or have chosen to fuse their diverse musical traditions towards a national identity.
Musical styles could also come from societies that are closed to external musical influences ,either because their home-grown styles are strong or they have taken measures to prevent the dominance of foreign styles. This was the case with West African countries where the immediate post-independence governments emphasised cultural policies that determined what sort of music was played in the media and in entertainment places.

Do we have a national musical style?
Uganda does not have a national musical style. In Ugandan music, we find a plethora of styles derived from the variety of influences that have informed our musicians and music scene since and before independence. As Robert Segawa, a music producer, explains, “We do not have a musical style that identifies our music as Ugandan music, the way Congolese have something called Soukouss. Over the years, we have been jumping from one genre to another depending on which artiste is popular here or internationally”.

Ugandan bands that have stood the test of time, such as Afrigo, do have a unique style.However, they were influenced by and structured their music on Congolese orchestra’s like Franco and Tpok jazz band, Tabu Ley and Afrisa International and Michelino Mavatiko.

Like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania do not have national music styles as well, as their bands such as Maroon Commandos, Them Mushrooms, Wanyika bands and Morogoro Jazz bands all lay claim to doing Swahili band music.
The closest we came to owning and developing our own music style was with the Kadongo Kamu music genre. But a national music style tends to be broadly performed, practiced and engaged which Kadongo Kamu was not, so we do not have one.

The existence of a national music style and its sustenance is located in a social, economic and political context. The disruption of the music industry in Uganda through decades of civil strife curtailed the development of coherent music traditions that were vibrant in the immediate post independence period.

James Wasula notes that the disunity that came in that period affected music because there were limited cross-collaborations between various ethnic groups.
In the early 1970s, all record labels in Uganda also closed shop and left for Kenya and other African countries. The void left behind led a lot of our musicians to determine their own musical directions and to record in neighbouring countries where they assimilated musical forms available in those countries.

Diplock Segawa observes that even without instability, Ugandan musicians were more interested in drawing foreign influences into their music than local music traditions, a situation he attributes to the more than 52 tribes that exist in the country and the desire to sell records. “To sell, musicians believe they cannot produce in styles that belong to one ethnic group in Uganda. They believe that producing music like that, which comes from out and which everyone likes, gives them a chance to do better. That is why in the 1970s, musicians sang like Abba, like Congolese, yet in the 1980s, they sang like South Africans. In the 1990s, they tried to be like Congolese again. Nowadays, everyone wants to produce zouk music,” he explains.

The commercial imperative is equally emphasised by Kato Lubwama, a singer, song writer, producer and band owner, “We had a musical style, it was a fusion of church music and Kadongo Kamu, it became known as Kadongo Kamu but later people went off course and started doing their own things. Ugandans love quick money,” he concludes.

Why we need a musical style .
The absence of a definite music style akin to Mbalax in Senegal, Highlife in Ghana or Mbaqanga in South Africa has deprived Uganda of a place in the economic exchange of global music. Because of this, hardly any international record label has shown interest in recording and distributing our musicians’ work nor have promoters at that level seen our artistes as performers who can bring a return to their investment.The same cannot be said of countries like Guinea, Mali, Senegal and South Africa, where distinct music styles and musicians attract a lot of attention and income from the rest of the globe.

Due to the absence of a music style, we have also not been able to use our music as a vehicle to promote tourism. Countries like Cuba and Jamaica, and even the city of Nashville in Tennessee, have relied on a national musical identity to attract tourists who come to enjoy their musical uniqueness.

Who should develop our national music style?
Robert Segawa says the development of a musical style, lies squarely on Ugandan musicians. However, Kato Lubwama instead argue that that the government has a role to play and is in the best position to ensure an evolution of a national musical style.

The responsibility for creating a national musical style cannot be apportioned to one party whether the government, musicians, or the public because national musical styles are not consciously created, but they come out of musical encounters among people of a given music community that results into that set of shared traditions, conventions and principles.

Musical styles are also not created in a vacuum. They are developed from the absorption of various kinds of musical influences that a particular music community is exposed to. Such influences come from music played on radio and television, in night clubs or even those sold in music shops. However, some countries have had deliberate policies that promote their musical traditions in the pursuit of national identity.

This is done through National Music Commissions, as was the case in Congo during the tenure of Mobutu Sese Seko, Senegal during the regime of Leopold Sedar Senghor, and in Guinea during Sekou Toure’s term where the government even ran its own record label. The presence of a solid musical infrastructure that has record labels may also enhance a shared music tradition.

In such cases, recording companies define specific forms of the music so that they can package it and sell it to musicians. Such was the case with the development of reggae in Jamaica, in Motown Detroit, and during the development of hip-hop music.

Joel Isabirye is a Media Consultant and Assistant Professor of Communication with an interest in popular culture.He has published widely on the music. of Uganda and Africa.