Get to know the new vibrant band in town Kaskazini
By: Sophie Opondo
Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Kaskazini band might be breaking out in the music scene now but they have been in this industry for years already. Bands are coming out of the woodworks every other day but what makes this one exceptional is their heartfelt lyrics and the raw emotions they display in their songs.
The boy band is a Kenyan afro-fusion group formed in Nairobi. The trio don’t just sing; they are very good with instruments too. The band’s members are Eugene Ywaya (vocals/guitar), Israel Onyach (vocals/bass guitar) and Chris Clave (vocals/guitar/keyboard). With such a rare combination of talent it is not difficult to see why Sol Generation Records owned by the most celebrated band in the country, Sauti Sol decided to sign them up.
The trio were guests recently on Switch TV’s Chatspot (Airs weekdays at 5:50PM). During the interview they revealed how they started out their music journey. Eugene was originally a poet who never had plans to pursue music until he met Israel at an event within the city. Chris on the other hand had always been Israel’s fan and always wrote songs and send them to him
Three people pursuing different types of art became friends and decided to come together for one common goal. Creating love ballads that felt authentic. Ywaya didn’t think he couldn’t sing before he met his fellow band mates. They came together and auditioned for Sauti Academy and got in. While at the prestigious academy they worked diligently to hone their vocals, song writing, music business knowledge and later graduated in April 2017.
Kaskazini’s official entry into the Kenyan music industry as a boy band was last year when they released their first official video under Sol Generation If I had your number. They also have done numerous collabos with artists like Nviiri, Bensoul and H-rt the band amongst others. They are currently working on their debut album 1919 to forever
