Melody Uganda carries their country’s name as part of their band, but all through their performance at the ongoing International Indie Music Festival (IIMF) at the Kerala Arts and Craft Village and their conversations, they strive for a wider representation of the entire African continent. It is a band which makes it hard for us to pin it down to one particular genre, switching seamlessly from Afropop to smatterings of reggae or folk and with influences of Congolese rumba.
Their sound speaks of the varied influences of each of the members with Kakooza Manson, the frontman and founder of the band, brings in his roots in reggae and Afropop, while drummer and music programmer Rako has folkish influences and guitarist Erick, a Ugandan citizen of Congolese origin has his rumba influences. At their home town Kampala, they all stay in the same neighbourhood.
“All of us have been friends for quite a long time, but I was performing solo until two years ago. Then, we decided to come together and create something which has the mark of all our influences. We don’t focus on one genre of music so long as we deliver our message laced with positivity and love. Even here in India, we are learning quite a lot of things we want to go back and bring into our music,” says Manson, in an interview to The Hindu.
