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NAHALA - TRADITIONAL ACOUSTIC BLUES - ALBUM NOTES

Blues is the music of our mothers, from their haunting lovely melodies. This is a five track solo acoustic album featuring Afro-acoustic blues--a fusion of the Delta blues and Ali Farka Toure-style rhythms wrapped up in down-to-earth, traditional melodies and riffs that will inspire visions in your mind, delivered through the stripped-down sounds of guitar, vocals, and small percussion instruments.

Track 1:  Corruption. This piece speaks about the injustice in our legal system. It’s become like a house of thugs! We all have to speak the truth, for the truth stands out. Land matters are sacred issues to my people, the Mijikenda (the Nine Tribes of The East African coast).  Kaya, a sacred place of peace, belonged to the Mijikenda from the time of our ancestors. Why are we being crowding out? Why are the people who speak the truth thrown in jail? That’s what’s happening in Mombasa Coast Province. Unemployment is high and people live in slums without proper sanitation. We know life is hard but the government needs to do better right now (similar to the struggles of the indigenous people in Canada).

Track 2:  Ana Arira. A parent leaves home in the reserve to find a job in the big city. It’s far from home, jobs aren’t easy to find, and the city hides a dangerous side. You know you can’t go back home to your children empty-handed; it’s always a struggle. The Mijikenda people are oppressed and don’t have access to proper education.  Most children worked for the wealthy in menial jobs as “boys”, a kind of slavery.  Few families could rise to success, instead sinking further into poverty.  After Kenya gained independence in 1963, rapid development continues to expand into the very lands that these people have lived on since the beginning of time, and it is easy to push them out. Nobody is listening.

Track 3:  Nahala. This word has two meanings; either marriage, or it can mean taking anything that you want!  In this case, the singer is tired because he has worked hard to invest his time and energy into the business of raising livestock, and hoping something  good will come of the business, but he comes to a decision that it would be better to sell the livestock and buy some food for his family. It will be a long journey and he sings along the way, walking on the dusty roads through villages like Rabai, Ruruma, Ribe, and Kambe to reach Kaloleni market centre. My friends, please wait for me at Kalanda’s Village Giriama. Kaloleni, Kaloleni, oh mother it’s far by foot.

Track 4.  Maisha . La vie. A short instrumental ode to Nature and the creation of God, to celebrate life and being thankful for the beauty we have all around us for life (Maisha) is peace. Track 5.  Baraka 2.  Blessings we look upon…our goodness brings blessings, and all our blessings are from God. Helping those afflicted with sickness or disability, poverty or homelessness, and those children without parents is a blessing--even the smallest good deed. No one is righteous, but we all have to learn to live together with love in peace and harmony. Some think of me as the lost son, the son who doesn’t come home to the land of his ancestors often…but wherever I am is my home, I am happy wherever I am, and only God can tell the time.  

(Composed/sound engineered/produced by Adam Solomon 2016)  

UPCOMING & PAST PERFORMANCES 

Adam Solomon is known primarily for his unique African Renaissance Blues style.

Known as "The Professor", this Juno award-winning guitar maestro is highly acclaimed for the jazzy blues licks which infuse his traditional African blues sound.

Learn more about Adam

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