Recent / Favorite Album Releases

George Mukabi - Furaha Wenye Gita

Mississippi Records, MRP-111, Vinyl Record, 2017

An almost mythical figure of African acoustic guitar, George Mukabi's reinvention of fingerstyle quickly spread from western Kenya throughout East Africa before his tragic death in 1963.

Hailing from the Luhya-speaking Kisa Region, George Mukabi combined local elements of the nyatiti lyre and sukuti drum into the bouncing "omutibo" guitar style, in which melody, rhythm and bass lines all merged in two hands on one instrument. An imposing man who was both respected and feared, he sang of the tumults of marriage, morality and Kenyan life, selling hundreds of thousands of records in East and Central Africa, though only dimly recognized overseas.

54 years after his passing, we traveled to Western Kenya to meet Mukabi’s son Johnstone, learn more about his life, and put together the first vinyl reissue of his work outside of Africa. Release includes a large 12-page booklet featuring an oral history by Mukabi’s family and friends, as well as full lyrics in Swahili and English.