Mungo’s Hi Fi to collaborate with East African artists while in Uganda

Mungo’s Hi Fi will hold concerts in Kampala on 9 November and Jinja on 10 November at The Square and Pit Stop venues respectively.

The sound system will feature singer Eva Lazarus. Ugandan acts include Kvan, Recho Rey, Ziggy D, Blessed San, C Wyne, Ras Clan and DJ Shiru as well as Kenya's Nazizi.

“Mungo’s are one of the most original and entertaining reggae-dancehall collectives out there, and they make music spanning many genres, so if you are into good music played on a loud sound system, this show is for you,” East African Records director David Cecil told Music In Africa.

Cecil said the label would facilitate a collaborative audio and video recording between Mungo’s Hi Fi and several artists signed to East African Records.

“The studio sessions are an exciting opportunity for both us and Mungo’s Hi Fi,” he said. “We will be fusing their unique brand of reggae-dancehall with a distinctly East African flavour, including local instrumentalists as well as singers.

East Africa Records has facilitated various collaborative projects between its artists and a wide array of international musicians since 2016. Cecil said the projects had contributed to the creative growth of the participating artists.

“It’s a rare chance to interact in the studio with someone from a completely different continent,” he said. “We realised that local artists enjoyed hearing how their styles are reinterpreted by a fresh producer from a different cultural background. Many local artists have had their music exposed to an international audience of the visiting producer or artist.”

East African industry players have repeatedly criticised Uganda's pop scene for using foreign influences such as reggae and dancehall. They say by looking abroad, Ugandan artists are steadily losing their unique identity.

But Cecil is convinced that reggae-dancehall is originally African. “Eric Donaldson, one of the founding fathers of reggae music, visited Uganda in April. He said something very interesting – that dancehall music is originally African, its rhythms, its chanting, the minimal percussion. So it’s more like Jamaicans are returning to the source and Ugandans are just making updated versions of their traditional music.”

Cecil does note that Uganda’s recording industry is far from perfect. “Ugandan producers are not ambitious enough,” he said. “They put out tracks that are lacking in good production and so it’s not taken seriously abroad. But there are many exceptions.”

Asked to elaborate on the upcoming studio project with the UK outfit, Cecil said: “For our recording sessions with Mungo’s, we’re making music that will appeal to the mainstream, while focusing on real quality production values. Tom, the main producer from Mungo’s, wants to sample Ugandan percussion and instruments to make something more organic, localised and different from his previous work. We’re very excited.”

Mungo’s Hi Fi has in the past worked with Jamaicans Sugar Minott and Ranking Joe, as well as American electro trio Major Lazer, among many others.