Sauti Sol promises thriller at Lake of Stars Fest

Kenyan band Sauti Sol, which is made up of Polycarp Otieno, Savara Mudigi, Willis Chimano and Bien Baraza, will be one of the festival’s headlining acts. The band, which became a reality a decade ago, has won several accolades at the MTV Africa Music Awards, All Africa Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), MTV Europe Music Awards (MTV EMA) and Soundcity MVP.

The band has also toured extensively in the last four years, with their latest tour, dubbed Melanin, having kicked off on 22 September with a performance in Zurich, Switzerland.

Music In Africa spoke to Sauti Sol about their Melanin tour and what they expect from the 15th edition of Lake of Stars Festival.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: This is not your first time in Malawi, is it?

SAUTI SOL: No it’s not. We were approached due to our previous experience with the organisers so it’s definitely an honour to come back as headliners. We played at the Lake of Stars Festival in 2013 to a wonderful reception but we were not as known as we are now.

Lake of Stars promotes arts and culture through music. In your opinion, what could be the benefits of such a festival in Kenya?

Giving artists a platform to show their work is always beneficial in enriching the culture of a country. At the moment, there are several festivals serving that purpose in Kenya but there is always room for more. Can a country have too many festivals?

Is there a song you love to perform above all others?

We just love to jam out with the crowd, so whatever song they react to most is the highlight of each performance. We typically ask fans to tell us what song they look forward to hearing before our performances to make sure we give them an unforgettable experience.

‘Short and Sweat’ and ‘Tujiangalie’ are your recent hits. For your Malawian fans, which songs are you most looking forward to performing?

As this is part of our Melanin world tour, we’re definitely excited to play the hits from our Afrikan Sauce LP, which is a continental body of work. We’re also excited to play some of our classics like ‘Sura Yako’ and ‘Live and Die in Afrika' for our Malawian fans.

‘Tujiangalie’ is a song outside your usual primary themes. Can you explain the inspiration behind the lyrics?

We just felt like it was time to self-reflect about the state of the world. We all have the capacity to change the society we live in by being introspective and accountable for how we contribute to the issues that affect us.

That is socially conscious music. Is music activism a direction you are looking to venture into more?

Music is how we best express ourselves so if there’s something we feel strongly about, social or otherwise, that’s how we’ll do it. Music is a universal language and therefore it’s one of the easiest ways to communicate across different cultures, borders, continents. Music is about feeling and is quite visceral and that’s what makes it powerful enough to change the world.

What is it that you normally want your listeners to take away from your songs?

Love! We want people to feel the love we put into the music and for that to translate to love in their lives and in everything that they do. As for the Lake of Stars 15th anniversary, the fans should expect the best live show experience from us because all we want to do is spread the love and have an incredible time with everyone at the festival.

Do you have a performance that stands out in your memory as particularly special?

Most recently, we performed at the Colours Festival in Ndola, which is in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. That was such a wonderful surprise for us because everyone knew all our songs. We thought the crowd would only know the hits but they really sang along to most of our set and that was a very special experience.

As a band that has managed to stay afloat in an industry that is largely dominated by music from the western and southern parts of Africa, how have you grown over the years and what does the future look like for Sauti Sol?

We’ve grown up! Some physically more than others [laughs]. Ours is a story of 'hard work pays'. Our fans have literally watched us evolve physically, financially and musically over the past 10 years.

In the year 2014, Savara and Polycarp picked up production and taught themselves the ins and outs. Since then we’ve been producing our own music. Every year we always try to learn a new instrument just to push ourselves as live performers and add new flavour to our sound. We’re also always looking to push boundaries with our style, fashion and visuals, and that’s what the future looks like; finding new comfort zones and exploring all that intrigues us sonically for our next album.

What are some of the music industry changes locally and regionally that you have noticed in the past five years?

There are many changes but the most notable one is the streaming culture. This has really improved, following the growth of social media. More people are consuming music online than ever before, hence the reduction of piracy on physical copies. It is so easy to go viral overnight and artists do not necessarily depend on the traditional media to push their content and to help grow their brands.

Lake of Stars tickets are available via Plankton, while international tickets (excluding Africa) are available via Eventbrite. For more information, visit the Lake of Stars official website.