Musician Kennedy Gilmore, who came to the limelight with his track ‘Ngati Mafunde’ starring with Sangalala Band when he was in the country, is still sprinting with music.
Now based in Colombia, Gilmore said yesterday he misses Malawi and that he has plans to come down and hold concerts.
He has since released his fourth album titled Café la Esquina, describing it as a project that points back to Africa.
“I am searching for African roots in the Americas. Music remains something that I hold dearly to my heart,” the musician, who plays the guitar including the harmonica, said.
He said the fourth album is a continuation of the mission which started with his debut album Ngati Mafunde.
“The inspiration for this album came during a conversation I had with Tomas Sauer (CEO and producer of TAS Records in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil). The pandemic was gone, and suddenly it felt as if the world could breathe again,” Gilmore said.
He further said Tomas asked him about what he wanted to do, for his next album.
“We had just released ‘Kenny Alone,” a studio album made in the pandemic where I had to play almost all the instruments, because of Covid restrictions. It made sense to make something big, something fun… something celebratory,” Gilmore said.
It was in Cuba where the album was hatched having met with Tomas at a cafe called Cafe la Esquina in a district of Havanna before connecting with a Cuban producer with later recordings done in both Brazil and Cuba.
“This album represents some of the music I love from all of the regions of the Americas; North, Central and South. All the music I loved in the Americas has a strong African root, something that could be traced back to the mother continent,” Gilmore said.
He said the album has Latin music blended with blues and Brazilian sounds and that he calls the project Pan-American album.
“I think the world needs to recognise and celebrate the huge influence that Africa has had on popular music today. It is so deep and massive; I could probably spend the rest of my life studying it and never really understand it. So, I guess I will just keep making albums,” he said.
Gilmore describes the album as a breakthrough in that it is international.
“The musicians playing on it are from two different countries, Brazil and Cuba. I simply love this,” he said.
Gilmore still speaks volumes of Ngati Mafunde saying it captured a moment in time where an idea for a song and for a band, captured a generation in Malawi.
“It always takes me back to those very special days playing with Sangalala Band, and performing Kuche Kuche, Sanjika Palace, French Cultural Centre and some iconic concerts. We made ‘Ngati Mafunde’ in a week, we were in a hurry and we wanted to play, we recorded in a state of great excitement,” he said.
With Cafe la Esquina, Gilmore said although it is a continuation of his sounds, it is different.
“We took our time, we were calm and philosophical about it, and it literally took me two years to make this album. Both albums are great, but in totally different ways,” he said.
The last time Gilmore was in the country was in 2019 when he launched a book titled The Harmonica Diaries at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre now Alliance Francaise de Blantyre.
“I am so happy that Malawi has developed now, there was not single festival back in the days of Sangalala Band, we played the first Lake of Stars Festival back in the day, that was the first one and now there are many.
“It warms my heart to hear about these cultural developments, and opportunities for Malawian musicians to perform and express their art,” he said.
He said he feels he owes a lot to Malawi in particular, the fans who encouraged him to get serious about recording music.
“I am fascinated by the connections between Latin American music and African music in particular and fans can expect some more interesting albums in the future. I am launching the album with a live streaming concert from the mountain tops in the Colombian Andes, where I currently live,” he said.
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