duggup

Extra Golden is a Kenyan-American band who stumbled into funk as an accidental by-product of its style, which combines  Nairobian benga music (Benga is one of the most beloved forms of popular music in Kenya)  and good old rock ’n’ roll. With a solid downbeat underpinning the drive the band make all the variations in style and tone that they feature just seem effortless.

Here is some hype from their website…

Extra Golden was formed rather casually in May of 2004 when Ian Eagleson, Alex Minoff and Otieno Jagwasi began fiddling with each other’s compositions in an apartment in the Buru Buru neighborhood of Nairobi. For rhythmic inspiration, the trio used isolated drum tracks by Onyango Wuod Omari that Eagleson had recorded earlier that year. After several song ideas were hashed out, Omari came by the apartment and, tapping pencils on a table, familiarized himself with them. The next afternoon, the four musicians met at the Annex Club and Restaurant in Kariobangi South Estate. Positioning themselves on a concrete slab between the tables and the restrooms, they set up a laptop and mixing board, a broken-down drumset, a couple of amplifiers and several microphones. Three hours later they packed up and left, the majority of Ok-Oyot System completed.

A year after this initial recording session, Otieno Jagwasi succumbed to his long struggle with liver disease. Besides causing great sadness, Otieno’s passing spurred Eagleson and Minoff to bring these recordings to the public. Chicago’s Thrill Jockey Records agreed to release the album and, in May 2006 – exactly two years after the group’s formation – Extra Golden was introduced to the world.

One of the most memorable songs from the new album, is “Obama.” The senator and his office made it possible for Extra Golden’s Kenyan members to obtain visas to play in the U.S., and they sing his praises, as well as of others in the U.S. consulate in Nairobi who made their tours possible.

A lot of class and style here. Great guitar sounds and just plain killer tracks.

Highly Recommended.

Websites at http://www.myspace.com/extragolden and http://www.extragolden.com/