Singer Ogoya Nengo is the last living icon of the traditional Kenyan “dodo” songs. For centuries, this genre has been practiced by the Luo people, who inhabit the shores of Lake Victoria. Like all traditional genres, “dodo” serves a practical function. It is performed exclusively by adult women, and the songs act as a public channel of communication. They offer space for satire, criticism, and moral instruction. Their themes range from life and death to figures such as Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya in the same region.
Ogoya Nengo comes to Prague as part of a trio with a brand-new project. Its backbone is producer, drummer, and electronic wizard Sven Kacirek, a Hamburg-based musician of Czech origin. His fusion of African rhythms with electronic textures is inventive, organic, and unique within its genre. Despite her age, Ogoya Nengo possesses a surprisingly youthful voice and sings with perfect pitch; her melodies hover on the border between song form and storytelling. Though she comes from a different region, her vocal authority and intonational precision recall Salif Keita—six years her junior—with the difference that the sharp turns of her singing are even wilder and more unpredictable.
If Kenya were located in Europe, “dodo” songs would long ago have been inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is a unique genre through which women address the public. Some songs criticize police aggression, judicial injustice, or the infidelities of partners. Unlike the dances of the younger generation, these songs have a loose, swaying rhythm, and the singing alternates—much like American blues—between call and response. The accompaniment consists of drums, along with the delicate pulse of rattles and other percussion instruments. It is precisely these sonic ornaments that producer Kacirek has masterfully translated into electronic form.
Ogoya Nengo, born Anastasia Oluoch in 1943, comes from a family of singers and soon joined their craft. In early adolescence, she gained social recognition; at the age of 13 she was given the name “Ogoya Nengo,” meaning “The Esteemed One.” She sang for great chiefs, warriors, and colonial officers, all of whom were captivated by her talent. Although her career spans more than five decades, limited resources kept her music from crossing the borders of her home region until the release of her debut album in autumn 2014 on the London label Honest Jon’s. In 2015, she performed in Prague for the first time as part of the Respect Festival. Although the project is anchored by producer and drummer Sven Kacirek, the third member of the group also deserves mention: Olith Ratego, the singer’s long-time collaborator. He possesses a unique high-register voice that many people mistake for a woman’s. Perhaps a coincidence, but more likely intentional—after all, “dodo” remains a distinctly female genre, and Olith respects this tradition.
