Andereya soars on his self-titled album

In August 2019, he won the Penda Uganda national songwriting contest taking 10 million Ugandan shillings ($2 716). A few weeks later he has graced us with a self-titled album Andereya. 

In this debut, Andereya embraces both soul, soft reggae and folk music and refuses to limit his craft as just being a traditional singer and composer. However, despite the variety of genres, his lyrics and voice are undoubtedly his strength. The production also plays out perfectly with the inclusion of djembe drums, akogo (thump piano), endigidi (tube fiddle), omukuri (flute) and enanga (trough zither).

The album opens with a gospel song titled ‘Son of a President’ where he speaks about his anxieties of being misunderstood and harshly judged by those who merely know him. The musician who grew up in the Kamwokya, Kifumbira Zone ghetto settlement, uses the song to lay bare his struggles and seeks to provide hope to those in similar situations. The song offers an impressive gritty guitar and reggae beat.

The album carries several love songs that will no doubt lure listeners to keep playing most of the tracks. In the second song ‘Andereya’, the singer is crushing hard on his dream woman as he passionately presents himself as the best. ‘Kahunde’ supports the known fact amongst Ugandans, that girls from the Batooro tribe are naturally the most beautiful.

'Take My Hand' turns to a ballad approach as it examines a relationship with his lover. He pleads with her to stay and give him the attention he craves. “Please take my hand. Don’t let me fall”, he sings. The insistent sound by the akogo instrument delivers the chagrin of the theme conjuring a dystopic dread that leaves you yearning for another listen.

Meanwhile, its follow-up, ‘Father and Child’ has been presented as a lullaby, but its real message is to parents whose children are approaching adulthood. The advice in the song is forthright and fused with wisdom. “Remember this world is rough but soft as well, so you be aware,” he sings. ‘Akana Kange’ comes forth as a continuation of ‘Father and Child’, a story of an overprotective father who laments about his daughter’s boyfriend not being good enough for her.

The album also takes the listener to task for the existence of early and forced marriages in Uganda. ‘Zinsaze’ (The Troubled Girl) is a comprehensive approach to end the practice. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported in 2011 that 10% of girls are married before 15 years and 40% of girls are remarried before the age of 18. However, the Ugandan government has vowed to eliminate child and forced marriages by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). ‘Zinsaze’ got a big boost when it was used as a soundtrack in the 2019 theatre play Zansaze by John Segawa.

The winning track in the album is ‘Mbasabira’ (loosely translated to I am Praying for You). It has a great acapella influence and the backing vocalists are a perfect complement to Andereya’s vocal delivery. This earthy song gets under your skin and demands repeated listens. It was featured in the 2018 Refugee Paradise documentary by Aron Gooris about refugees in Uganda.

While the album is sonically diverse and lyrically engaging, six of Andereya 11 tracks are a little too familiar with one another. With ‘Mbasabira’ and ‘Mukangaare’ we see that Andaraya has more in his arsenal. The album would have benefitted more from the addition of similarly folk like arranged songs. 

Anyone who has seen Andereya perform live is familiar with the intensity of his soulful delivery, which inspires a connection between a performer and the audience. Andereya has masterly translated that in his self-titled album whose songs suit his live performances.

Andereya is available for preview and purchase here. 

Artist: Andereya 
Album: Andereya 
Year: 2019