Sunday, May 28, 2023
Germany Latest News
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe
No Result
View All Result
Germany Latest News

Letter from Africa: The Afro-punk band taking on ‘whitewashed’ history

by The Editor
October 8, 2022
in Africa
0
Letter from Africa: The Afro-punk band taking on ‘whitewashed’ history

Related posts

Bola Tinubu inauguration: The five tests awaiting Nigeria’s new president

Bola Tinubu inauguration: The five tests awaiting Nigeria’s new president

May 27, 2023
Nigeria: town mourns more than 50 people shot dead in church during mass

Nigeria: town mourns more than 50 people shot dead in church during mass

June 6, 2022

Crystal Axis, a five-piece Afro-punk band, has established itself as one of the leading group on Kenya’s burgeoning rock music scene.

I find them rehearsing in a recording studio at the International Trade Fair Grounds, on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

One of the guitarists plays distorted riffs on his instrument with a scratchy, heavy sound as the drummer energetically beats his drums.

The group is made up of Ahmed Bulhan, known as AB, on vocals, Djae Aroni and Fox Elijah on guitar, Doug Kihoro on bass and Dan Gichia on drums and percussion.

Their origin lies in Nairobi’s late noughties alternative music scene, which had a number of bands performing everything from indie rock and punk to heavy metal.

At the time Aroni was at school when one night he snuck out of home to see a post-hardcore band, Jack the Hammer. The lead singer and guitarist happened to be Elijah.

Seeing Elijah rocking it out on stage in his black skinny jeans, classic Vans and fierce punk attitude had an impact – and the next day Aroni went to school and told his friends he wanted to start his own rock band.

Shortly afterwards in 2009 he set up Crystal Axis and was soon joined by AB, with Elijah and Kihoro joining in 2017 and Gichia last year.

Growing up as teenage rockers and performing while still in secondary school posed its problems, says Aroni.

They had to dodge bouncers at clubs who demanded to see their IDs: “We literally had to bribe our way into our own gigs.”

Unlike most young Kenyans who are into Afrobeats or hip-hop, the raw energy of punk rock was their inspiration.

For Aroni it came from watching US group Green Day’s live film Bullet in a Bible and seeing lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong holding his crotch while gyrating wildly on stage. He thought to himself then: “This is what I want to do.”

His bandmate Kihoro was inspired by listening to Scandinavian death metal, while drummer Gichia honed his musical skills in his teens playing in a local Christian rock band.

In 2017 the band released their first major EP, Leopold – a commentary on the mass colonial atrocities committed by King Leopold II of Belgium in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since then they have released three more EPs that have garnered them a devoted following in Kenya and internationally – people drawn to their bold, infectious and distinctly punk rock sound.

Their lyrics, in English and a smattering of Swahili, are highly political and delve into everything from colonial history and corruption to racism.

“[We want to] tell African stories from an African perspective,” Aroni says.

Their hit single Nyayo House addresses the legacy of Daniel arap Moi, Kenya’s longest-serving president, who led what became known as the “Nyayo regime”.

The raging lyrics shine a light on a harrowing aspect of Kenyan oppression and are an indictment of an era when there was no freedom of expression in the East African nation.

Nyayo House is a high-rise government building in central Nairobi infamous for its torture chambers used for opponents of Moi, who was in power from 1978 to 2002.

“We are dissidents… Nyayo is sickening,” scream the lyrics of the song, which AB says is about “generational trauma” and the need for Kenyans to speak about this history.

In August Crystal Axis released their latest EP, Black AF, a celebration of contemporary African identities.

It draws on their own experiences as young black Africans who contend with various challenges such as corruption, but is also a celebration of their strength, talent and creativity.

The band also wants to use the power of punk rock music to create a space for young Kenyans to make this music on their own terms.

Another aspiration is to reclaim punk rock history, which they say has been “whitewashed” and the contribution of black punk artists often forgotten.

Aroni gives the example of black pioneers like Death, a proto punk band founded in Detroit in 1971, which tends not to be credited for its development of the early punk sound.

In the late 1970s punk heyday other black bands also played an important role in the explosive growth of the genre with groups such as Pure Hell, formed in Philadelphia in 1974, and X-Ray Spex, formed in London in 1976 by the Somali-British punk pioneer Poly Styrene.

As part of their efforts to challenge the image of punk rock music as a genre dominated by white, male bands, Crystal Axis was meant to play at the Decolonise Fest in the UK last month.

The festival celebrates punk music by people of colour, but the band members were denied visas to enter the UK – much to their outrage and disappointment as they had sold out shows in Leeds, Manchester and London.

But this has not dented their ambition – and they see punk rock as a powerful means to channel their rage, intellectual curiosity, joy and hopes.

In the recent Kenyan elections the majority of the band members did not vote, with Kihoro saying Kenyan politics is “full of old men”.

Aroni agrees, adding that most young Kenyans feel powerless to alter the political landscape: “We are disenfranchised. There’s nothing we can do.”

Yet Crystal Axis’ lyrics are a warning that young people should not be ignored.

Their 2020 song Take The Throne about “over policing” in Kenya and the violence of the state explodes with words: “Send your soldiers, send your mob. We’re 50 million, and we’re tenfold strong.

“Rip it down! We’ll build again from scratch. Every roaring fire starts with just a single match.”

Read from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63034861

Previous Post

Dancers’ moves help to power Glasgow music venue

Next Post

Crimea bridge partly reopens after huge explosion – Russia

Next Post
Crimea bridge partly reopens after huge explosion – Russia

Crimea bridge partly reopens after huge explosion - Russia

RECOMMENDED NEWS

South Korea court slashes ex-president Park’s jail term by 10 years

South Korea court slashes ex-president Park’s jail term by 10 years

3 years ago
Chevy Tahoe Stuffed With Five Pounds Of Heroin Inside​ Engine Shipped To Alaska

Chevy Tahoe Stuffed With Five Pounds Of Heroin Inside​ Engine Shipped To Alaska

5 years ago

Two new books explore the science and history of the 1918 flu pandemic

4 years ago
Race-by-race tips and preview for Warwick Farm on Wednesday

Race-by-race tips and preview for Warwick Farm on Wednesday

4 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 123 Followers
  • 87.2k Followers
  • 189k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death
  • Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’
  • European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage
  • Bola Tinubu inauguration: The five tests awaiting Nigeria’s new president
  • Asiana Airlines: Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight

Categories

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Tags

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
Germany’s slipped into recession and everyone should be worried
latest news

Germany’s slipped into recession and everyone should be worried

by The Editor
May 27, 2023
0

FRANKFURT ― Not so long ago, Germany was Europe's powerhouse: wealthy, booming, politically strong. But the mighty have fallen. And...

Read more

Recent News

  • Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death
  • Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’
  • European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage

Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Recent News

Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death

Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death

May 27, 2023
Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

May 27, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.