Kenya: Blinky Bill shares We Cut Keys 2 album

The 16-track collection, which sees Blinky Bill pushing the envelope once again, is available for streaming and download on major digital platforms.

Mostly made in Nairobi during the onset of the COVID pandemic, the album continues in the exploratory and experimental nature of the previous projects while tapping into traditional tribal drum sounds, electronic music, hip hop and jazz, and captures a variety of themes.

We Cut Keys 2 possesses a signature bounce that sonically marks a departure from the previous project – Everyone’s Just Winging It and Other Fly Tales – thanks to the project being mixed by legendary engineer Gordon ‘Commissioner Gordon’ Williams, who has won several Grammy awards for his work on Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse’s Frank, Damian Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock. Mastering of this album was left in the hands of Tony Dawsey who has mixed Jay-Z’s Black Album and The Blueprint, Whitney Houston’s My Love Is Your Love and Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony and many more classic albums.

The album’s opening single, ‘Dracula’, is an urgent call for people to unite and stand up for their rights. The second single, ‘Get That Paper’, is a cocktail of funk, hip hop and jazz and a reflection of Blinky Bill’s visual and sonic mastery.

Describing the creative process behind some of the songs, Blinky Bill said: “I have always wanted to make a talk box tune and this was my opportunity to do so, inspired by my favourites Stevie Wonder and Daft Punk. Also there’s not a lot of African music that explores that sound. It’s an exciting challenge and ‘Ajigo Township Funk’ allowed me to delve into it.

“‘Bon Voyage’ is a song about being misunderstood and the feeling that whatever you do you can’t change that notion so you let it play out as is. It features rising Kenyan singer Kasha and production by Ghanaian electro producer Rvdical the Kid.

“‘Boss’ came about after I went to a friend’s house for drinks and ended up getting too wasted to drive home and I had to get a cab. The driver was playing some traditional Luo music and all I was thinking during the drive was ‘how have I never played with this drum pattern’ , and next morning I was in the studio making this. It features Kenyan music legend Maji Maji and Melkizedo.”

With an impressive career spanning more than a decade, Blinky Bill has proven himself as a leading experimental artist not only in Kenya but around the world. He is renowned for his work as one of the driving forces behind the Kenyan electronic music and arts collective Just a Band, where he contributed to three albums. His remarkable talent has allowed him to work with notable artists such as Nneka, GoldLink, Sampa the Great, Childish Gambino and Chance the Rapper.