Men of Soul Kenya is an acoustic ensemble of five independent, recording and live artists, namely: Ciano Maimba, Isaac Kimani, Kato Change, Noel Nderitu, and Manasseh Shalom. It’s not your everyday type of band.
The quintet stands out for its distinctive musical ensignia of laid-back rhythm and blues (rnb), far from the mainstream, and often charged genres of afro-pop, gengetone, and hiphop.
Each of the artists is a skilled guitar strummer and vocalizer. If you ever need a piece of music to flow down to the heart, yet go further down to the soul and gently smother it, Men of Soul will hand it to you, soulfully.
The group sings about romance and contemporary life. Their live sessions are enlivened further on by banter, and stories behind their songs.
Let’s sample, shall we?
Let’s sample out two Men of Soul songs, to give you a slight taste:
Tabasamu, a song from the band’s debut EP Footprints, is a (seemingly broke) lover’s call to his lady, “Hey, I know it’s not fancy here, but I promise the whole chunk of my heart to you. So won’t you just smile?” Of course, this slaps better with a few strums of the guitar. Here’s a small teaser:
Nairobi, also from Footprints is an artist’s way of saying: politics and infrastructure aside, Nairobi is my favourite city in the entire world. It’s written by the travelled Kato Change, so savant that he would rather have the guitar spit out lyrics. Hardly will you find much lyrics on his music.
How Men of Soul Kenya came to be
The story of the band’s inception goes back to a wedding ceremony in 2017. Kato Change invited Noel Nderitu, Isaac Kimani and Ciano Maimba for a gig at his sister’s wedding.
Afterwards, Noel posted on his Instagram Stories asking: should we do a gig? In response, fans went all in favor of the gig. Eventually in February 2018, Men of Soul had their first gig.
Members in little detail
Ciano Maimba
Ciano Maimba has long been a musician. He began writing songs at around the age of seven, and at the peak of his high school, he went on to join a band and started performing at gigs. He kept on performing after clearing high school, and thereon met the other Men of Soul artists.
Isaac Kimani
Many know Isaac Kimani from his role in Mwanga band, the group behind the songs Tuko Tayari and Sitaogopa.
Kimani’s journey in music began at an early age of 4. But he would make a serious venture into music much later, around the year 2012, when he began perfoming in church gigs. In the same year, he also started writing songs.
Kato Change
Kato is savvy with his instrument. He handles it like a pro, serving bars of uncommon creativity.
Like the other Men of Soul, Kato started at an early age. Along the journey, he played in a band at Nairobi Baptist Church, alongside Noel Nderitu.
At 18, Kato worked with singer Maia Von Lekow, and also with Tim Rimbui at age 20. Kato was part of the band Ma3 which played at Tusker Project Fame. Later on he joined Coke Studio and started touring.
In 2017, Kato was shortlisted for a short term collaborative residency in Brazil. During his stay there, he met and worked with a Brazilian artist, Luedji Luna on her upcoming album. For his contribution to this album, Kato got a Latin Grammy nomination.
Noel Nderitu
Noel Nderitu is a seasoned artist, with six singles, two EPs and three albums to his portfolio.
Before his solo career took off, Noel perfomed in church gigs – at Nairobi Baptist Church, where he met Kato Change. His solo career would begin later in 2013.
Manasseh Shalom
Manasseh also goes by the name Kitungi. He’s a trilingual artist. Apart from English and Swahili, he sings in his native Kamba language. He’s also a music director, vocalist and guitarist at Stories and Songs.
Manasseh’s discography boasts of three albums and seven singles.
Gigs
Men of Soul runs annual live gigs centered on occasions like Valentines day. Tickets are acquired on online booking sites.
Men of Soul Debut
Men of Soul released their debut EP Footprints in November 2022, with the songs Tabasamu, Nairobi, Nitangoja, Kati ya Wote, Bora Uhai and Earthwire.
Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out Footprints.