S4: EP 16 | Akoth Jumadi – “My Music Is Liberating”

Akoth Jumadi’s music explores themes of love, healing, spiritual emancipation, political liberation and cultural integration in the arts. She started playing at Maseno University in Kisumu, when a friend gave her a subtle nudge by gifting her a guitar. Under the tutelage of a veteran guitarist, she started her journey as a musician. Over time an urge to explore more forms of musicality, she taught herself bass guitar to express her love for funk and jazz, inspired by Esperanza Spalding and her Luo roots called her to the nyatiti, an 8-stringed Luo lute that is traditionally only played by men. Under the guidance of Ati Sanaa, another female nyatiti player, Jumadi took steps that her grandfather had traced many years (he was a nyatiti player).

In this interview, we dissect Akoth’s first EP ‘Ere Yo’ (2020) and her first full length album ‘Yo Ni Ka’ (2022). Both the records are a collection of Akoth Jumadi’s experiences growing up, learning about herself and reflecting through her environment.

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