Myko Ouma celebrates Ugandan sounds

The lighting, excellent. The sound, superb. Kampala Serena Hotel’s Victoria Conference Hall has in the past positioned itself as a space for intimate concerts since the early 2000s. From artistes such as Suzan Kerunen to Maurice Kirya, it is a venue that seems to understand their demands, and thankfully, as a space, Serena delivers.

Myko Ouma’s World of Sounds, which took place on Friday night, was, however, different. A one of the kind concert where the focus was not on the singer.

Of course, a few instrumentalists such as Michael Kitanda, Isaiah Katumwa, and Emmanuel Zinda, have in the past held solo shows, but only a few times did one of these shows come with such pomp.

Myko Ouma is a renowned figure in Uganda’s contemporary music scene who has worked with various artistes throughout his career. From artistes such as Bebe Cool to Azawi, he has somehow worked with all generations of artistes.

However, the guitarist has done a lot for himself, including being a founding member of Soul Beat Africa, who were a formidable crew of instrumentalists.

The artistry of Michael Ouma on guitar, Ambrose Tugume on drums, Jude Mugerwa on the keyboard and Sam Bakkabulindi on percussion made the group remarkable. But then they had their frontman, Herbert Kinobe, playing a kora and endongo.

After performances at various festivals around the world, different members of Soul Beat Africa found themselves doing other things, with Jude Mugerwa and Myko Ouma embracing production.  

As a gutarist, Myko Ouma has made a mark and headlined two concerts, but he says the reason he held World of Sounds was to highlight the music and create something bigger than him.
Aptly titled World of Sounds, the concert remained true to two things; various sounds and music genres and being headlined by Myko Ouma. 

It is very common to find instrumentalists who do not hold their own on such shows, often overshadowed by singers. 

Not Myko Ouma. Everything that happened on the night may not have been about him, but it was about music from a guitar, an instrument he plays and is known for.

Through world music mashups, soul, R&B, and bits of Afro-pop, the guitar remained the most persistent instrument on the stage.

As an artiste whose experience has inspired a generation, he opened his set with Herbert Ssensamba, whose Nzikiliza was the perfect mood setter for the show.

Jose Sax and Ouma’s collaboration with A-Pass on Mariana may have been largely an undercelebrated reggae song but it got its moment in the light when the trio performed it.

But the essence of a show termed World of Sounds, to celebrate the extraordinary, for this show, it must have been the musical conversation between Sewa Sewa’s janzi, Kenneth Mugabi’s adungu and Myko Ouma’s guitar.

He was later joined by Joel Ssebunjo with his kora; their collaboration on the latter’s Mulungi off the I Speak Luganda album was impressive and easily reminded one of the time when the album just dropped back in 2016.

Ssebunjo and Ouma are not strangers to each other’s music; in fact, the kora griot says they have known each other since they were students at Makerere College.

The concert easily took a turn, but when Juliana Kanyomozi joined Ouma for Sanyu Lyange and Diana, for the first time, the audience got off their seats and did not sit to the end.