The first line of the ‘Road to Kirya‘ album review would be that ‘Uganda doesn’t deserve Maurice Kirya’ but before we go into an argument to say that our country should not deserve the worst, Uganda needs more Maurice-like music for a better music industry.
On May 6, 2022, the brain behind the famed Mwooyo genre, announced the release of his sixth album dubbed ‘The Road To Kirya’.
Before the official album release, Kirya hauled the audience with Ssejjiga, song number two off the 12-track album.
Kirya’ s album is a toast to Afro-beat, Folk, Jazz, and the budding Afro-neo soul, a genre that has presumably taken over Uganda’s alternative music space.
Unlike most music that is currently released in Uganda, the road to Kirya is not just a mere batch of dialogue but a realm of poetry and storytelling with songs like ‘Yakuntondera‘, a song with lyrics that evoke emotions as Kirya sings to love.
In the song ‘Yakuntondera’, Kirya plays around with an open tone sound of the conga drum to reminisce with Kiganda Drums to achieve the local musical touch.
Just like ‘Yakuntondera‘, song number 8 dubbed Lindako is a manifestation of Kirya’ s lyrical maturity as the singer plays with words and well-arranged instruments while enveloping a love experience that is synonymous to his Ugandan audience.
With nearly half of the album seeming to be a romantic ode that will surely outlast the ears of any average listener, the road to Kirya is a bi-lingual piece of art that was recorded in both Luganda and English.
Well received, on 10th June 2022 at the Design hub at the Road to Kirya Party following almost 36 months of no show, numbers on digital streams do not match the startling album quality; a situation you can presumably blame on Uganda’s wandering music industry and perhaps the marketing approach.
Produced in both Uganda and Netherlands, the album that is now available on all streaming platforms was written, produced, and arranged by Maurice Kirya, with the help of a couple of musicians and sound engineers who include Rick te Dorsthorst, Willem Van De Krabben, Jens Drijer, Julian Bohn, Simone Cesarini, Coen Witeween, Wies Knippin, Matheus Nololasuwsky, Mitchell Damen, Jules Fransen, Jordan Bridges, Fré and so many more.
Kirya also utilized the talents of Ugandan creatives including Julius J Ssengooba alias JJ Bugoma who is the percussionist behind
song number 5 called Bettina, producer Samuel Bisaso, Artistes Daniel Mwesigwa, Nicholas Mayanja, Ernest Otim, Fidel Mambo, and renowned guitarist solo Myko Ouma.
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