Makadem's new song with Swedish producer

Makadem (real name Charles Odero Ademson)’s new release is an upbeat tempo that sees life as a celebration. The Luo Benga worked on the song with Swedish producer Kronan.

‘Maisha’ is a single off Kronan’s EP titled ‘Move’ that the producer wrote and composed. The song is meant to stir feelings of joy and put listeners in a celebratory trance. It is a reminder to look at life’s positive moments even in the midst of challenges.

Kronan was looking for an African artiste who sings in Kiswahili. He approached Makadem’s former manager, Carolina Vallejo, from World Music Production, and Makadem struck an equal royalties deal with Kronan from the song.

“I told them I am not in it for the money, but I also didn’t want to be taken advantage of. They sent me a demo and asked if I can do this. I recorded it through my phone,” he says.

Also crowned as the Ohanglaman, he is popular for creating culturally infused melodies with the Luo lyre, Nyatiti, in his music. He recollects how his 2008 protest song, ‘Mapambano’, still lives on, speaking through its themes of youth uprising and civic participation. Someone had told him to compose a song that will stand the test of time.

“A musician is a normal person with the same experiences as any other. Most people don’t have the platform to express their concerns; therefore, I use mine to address what is going wrong in our society,” he says.

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To Makadem, his choice of language is dictated by the rhythm of sounds and the nuances it upholds and not really the use of the language itself. Moreover, culture and innovation feed off each other, and he doesn’t elevate one above the other, and for this, he wholly embraces innovation with preservation of cultural authenticity.

“Language doesn’t define my style of music, but how it is arranged does. Necessity is the mother of invention; thus, I never see a war between cultural heritage and modernity. Innovation simplifies things,” he says.

A lot of sounds inspire Makadem in his now 20-year career. While he states that Nyatiti is the basis of his sound for its unique melody, he has experimented with other East African sounds, such as the eight-stringed inānga and the one-stringed Umuduri from Rwanda. Makadem encountered the instruments when he went for a one-week Nyatiti-Inanga artist residency program in Kigali, Rwanda last year.   

“When I don’t use Nyatiti, people still think that I am. The instrument creates a unique identity for me as an artist. For example, we celebrate how minimalistic Ayub Ogada was in his known work,” he says.

Makadem is crafting three albums: ‘Nyatiti Jazz Experience’, ‘Nyatiti Chronik’, and ‘Nyatiti Acoustic’.

The singer, composer, author, performer and multi-instrumentalist has stood on global stages, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2014, the Story Moja Festival in 2015, the African Experience: Tour of Denmark in 2013, Cannes Film Festival in 2012, and Doa Doa East Africa Performing Arts Market in Jinja, Uganda.