H_Art the Band: Sauti za Busara’s big revelation

But to the audience at large, the trio of Mordecai Kimeu, Kenneth Muya and Wachira Gatama was just a filler act. Some would have even wondered why the boys had been billed for the main stage.

But that wasn’t all. The group was performing on Saturday night, a day after Sarabi Band had put together a spirited performance that not only cemented their position among the Busara favourites but also announced lead singer Mandela’s exit from the band.

Not even the way the band took to the stage was ordinary – they came dressed in their usual wash-and-wear clothes and multicoloured socks. One of them had even mixed up the pairs. Gatama, the band's spoken word artist, donned granny denims but strangely had his hair in place, and vocalist Kimeu had indeed put on dust-stricken trousers.

One of the fans even thought it wasn’t the real H_Art the Band on stage as the musicians took their positions. But when they started playing, everything fell in place. Their costumes are part of a clever plot to win over the crowd and in many ways complement their music, which has influences of pop, poetry and comic relief.

On stage, they are storytellers, comics and vocalists all rolled into one. The clothing synchs with their tunes, which are often inspired by vintage African music mixed with classic disco. Most of their recorded songs feature Gatama's spoken word, although when performing at Busara’s main stage they opted to either render the spoken verses shorter or do away with them altogether.

If it was part of the plan to keep an already charged audience on its feet, it worked. The group had people dancing to songs like ‘Mashisha’, ‘Baby Love’ and ‘Uliza Kiatu’. The only time there was no dancing going on was during the delivery of verses on ‘Love Phobic’.

When H_Art the Band hit the stage, you felt like the crowd was going to get the same old treatment. In fact, it did at first but that was only until the band began engaging the fans with jokes, mostly delivered in Swahili. By the time they got to the middle of their set, even those who had been seated were on their feet screaming “Ndakhuyanza”.

Gatama said the band had travelled to the festival ahead of their performance to study the audience and the stage they would be performing on. “This helped us understand what makes them happy and what gets them dancing,” he said. The band members then went to work, rehearsing in their hotel rooms.

Describing their sound as “Afro-poetry”, H_Art the Band was formed in 2012. In the past two years, the group has taken the East African scene by storm thanks to catchy lyrics and fashion statements, both on stage and online through well-received videos.

Talking to Music In Africa, Kimeu said their dream was to take over Africa and eventually go global. If their main stage performance at Sauti za Busara is anything to go by, H_Art the Band is on the right path.

Watch the video for 'Uliza Kiatu' below: