In 2004 YUNASI developed a unique East African music style
called Sesube which is a combination of séga, isukuti and benga. It takes
sounds and inspirations
from local Kenyan communities, cultural styles and
languages and fuses those sounds with a European component. The sound is
achieved by playing a variety of
instruments, both traditional and modern.
Their music is not only popular and progressive but also
emphasises the theme of social responsibility and harmony. YUNASI work at a
youth project in the
Mathare slums to show the youth that music and sport can
be a way to escape poverty as well as a way to avoid the pressures to use drugs
and engage in crime.
In March 2006 YUNASI were announced as Prize winners at the
prestigious US International Song Writing Contest held in 2005 for the song JI
OPOGORE
(The Difference of People)– obtaining 3rd place in the World Music out
of 15,000 entries from all over the world.
They also won the 2004 Kisima award for best Afro Fusion band
and were nominated for an All Africa Kora award in South Africa 2003.
The band comprises 7 men from
The band aims to increase the awareness of contemporary Kenyan
music both locally and overseas and hope to become one of the best known bands
around.
YUNASI are determined to bring Kenyan music to the forefront and to
prove that East African music is not only as strong but is actually more
inventive and vibrant
than that from other parts of the continent