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A few months ago we (Urban Radio 90.7 FM) were approached by a Kisumu based contemporary band to play a song they had just released about the city. Most people assume that getting your song played on radio is as simple as submitting it but it’s not, especially for radio stations like the one I work for where the playlist is thoroughly vetted by a music committee who have the last word on whether a song will be played or not. In this case we haggled a lot about it.
Starting December 2015 though we decided to spin it and hoped that Kisumu would fall in love with it – and they did! Mostly after The CBK (Creative Band Kenya) released it’s official video.
Actually I also fell in love with this song after watching the video on Youtube. There is a subtle message about intermarriages or cross-cultural relationships. The first time I heard the song I thought Siro was market according to the Alego and Ugenya dialects of Dholuo and it only downed on me that actually it was a Luo’s way of saying Shiro, a popular Kikuyu name for ladies.
The song is about a young man from the lakeside who falls in love with a beautiful Kikuyu lady from Nyeri. He then decides to fly her to Kisumu aboard a Fly 540 Jet and show her around the Kisumu and the Luo way of life.
They go fishing in Lake Victoria and are lucky enough to catch a mbuta. They shop at Kibuye and Oile Markets and watch the sun set at Kiboko Bay resort.
Other than exposing the rest of Kenya to the rich Luo culture and promoting intermarriages, this song greatly markets Kisumu’s important tourist destinations.
In my own words:
“This is the current generation’s version of Kisumu 100 by Suzanne Owiyo”
This is a great song with a great message, let’s share it and send it to number one on local charts – Kisumu definitely Lives Here. #KisumuLivesHere.
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