Showcase Wednesday - Winyo and the Dodo Express

This month’s Showcase Wednesday brings together some of Kenya’s finest musicians, to curate a set together following a short musical residency at the Alliance Française de Nairobi. Anchored around the music of Winyo (Shiphton Onyango), RFI Music Discoveries top ten African musicians in 2010 and 2011, the Dodo Express comprises of versatile household names: Eddie Grey (jazz guitarist and composer), Kasiva Mutua (percussionist ), Mutindi Muasa (bassist) and Abaju Norris Baya (drummer). Winyo’s contemporary benga style is influenced by Dodo, the traditional Luo musical/dance genre that originated from Luo beer party songs during the World War II period and which is becoming extinct. Winyo is a Luo word for bird as Winyo’s voice is likened to the melody of a singing bird.