Grandmaster Masese, by Grandmaster Masese

Grandmaster Masese

by Grandmaster Masese

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Full length LP of Grandmaster Masese's obokano music featuring guest appearances by Kunal Prakash (Jeff the Brotherhood, Weather Warlock), Samm Bennett (Elliot Smith, etc etc), Mike List and Dave Sharp (Dr Pete Larson's Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band, Dave Sharp Worlds).

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Grandmaster Masese limited LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited LP version 100 copies

Includes unlimited streaming of Grandmaster Masese via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out
Grandmaster Masese LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Full length LP of Grandmaster Masese's obokano music featuring guest appearances by Kunal Prakash (Jeff the Brotherhood, Weather Warlock), Samm Bennett (Elliot Smith, etc etc), Mike List and Dave Sharp (Dr Pete Larson's Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band, Dave Sharp Worlds).

Limited edition of 100 copies

Includes unlimited streaming of Grandmaster Masese via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	Chiombe Chiachire 04:09	info	buy track
2.	Ekeore 02:14	info	buy track
3.	Enyamunchera 04:17	info	buy track
4.	Enyoni Yachiree 03:35	info	buy track
5.	Orogena 04:42 video	info	buy track
6.	Nyambeki na Nyarere 03:15	info	buy track
7.	Inyora Nka 04:11	info	buy track
8.	Omoraba 03:09	info	buy track

about

Grandmaster Masese is one of only a handful of living practitioners of the obokano, the unique eight stringed lyre of the Gusii people of Western Kenya (Africa). The obokano is notable not only for its massive size, but also for its unique bass heavy, rhythmic buzz filled sound. Its trance inducing sounds are unforgettable.

Masese himself is a seasoned musician, a dedicated human rights advocate, teacher, author and scholar based in Nairobi, Kenya. Masese’s commitment to his music and his enthusiasm to bring its sounds to the rest of the world inspired this collection of his songs. Rather than simply present an ethno-musicological presentation of traditional obokano music, he opted to create as unique a work as possible.

I first ran into Masese in a club in Nairobi, where I saw him playing this giant bowl shaped lyre and heard him producing some of the most unique musical sounds I had ever experienced. It didn’t take me long to approach him about a possible collaboration. My label, Dagoretti Records, put out a single in 2019 which brought the attention of numerous alt-music luminaries including Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt, who featured it on a must listen list on the Bandcamp Daily.

Grandmaster Masese’s first full length album features an international cast of musical characters, all adding to his singular sound. These include Kunal Prakesh (Jeff the Brotherhood, Weather Warlock) on guitar, Tokyo based percussionist and sound artist Samm Bennett (UA, Haco, Elliot Sharp, etc. etc. etc.), Detroit area percussionist Mike List (Dr Pete Larson's Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band), bassist and synth player Dave Sharp (Dave Sharp Worlds). Mixing was done by Chris Koltay of High Bias Recordings (the War on Drugs, Deerhunter), mastering by Warren Defever (His Name is Alive.)

This record is a unique collection of tunes that take the centuries old folk traditions of the obokano and the Gusii people and melds them with the forward thinking ideas of some of the most singular musicians on the planet, the first full length obokano record in history and a taste of the future of African music.

- Pete Larson

credits

released December 3, 2021

Grandmaster Masese: Obokano, Vocals
Ken Moracho Ongoro: Second obokano, backing vocal

Kunal Prakash: Guitar
Mike List: Percussion
Samm Bennet: Some instruments
Dave Sharp: Bass, synth

Produced by Dr Pete Larson
Recorded by Ngalah Oreyo in Nairobi, Kenya
Mixed by Christopher Koltay
Mastered at Third Man Records by Warren Defever
Layout by Barnaby Root

Photos of Grandmaster Masese by Colin Crowley

Thanks to: Brian Chippendale, Tomo Tsukahara, Makadem, Matthew Swallow, Fred Thomas, Encore Records

license

about

Dagoretti Records Ann Arbor, Michigan

"Dagoretti" is the confluence of three large pathways in Nairobi connecting all of Kenya together. It is also the Swahilified pronounciation of "The great."

We like to think that we put out great records that connect distant places together. ... more

dagorettirecords.com

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