ONE ON ONE: Hulda Adhiambo Serro

Hulda Adhiambo Serro, 22, through her Benga and Jazz-fused Afro-Pop sounds, has graced numerous stages. She represented Kenya at an intensive collaborative workshop in South Africa in 2015. KAREN MURIUKI spoke to the ‘musical storyteller’.

What got you to writing songs and singing?

I have always loved music. So it just happened that it got to a point where I felt like I needed to create my own.

How long ago was this?

In 2014, while in campus.

Can you remember the first time you wrote a song?

I was doing an assignment for Sauti Academy, and I just did not feel the song we had been given. I asked myself, ‘why not write my own?’ It was easy. Going forward, it was never as easy though. (Laughs).

How long were you at Sauti Academy?

The programme runs for a year. I did that while pursuing my undergraduate degree at Kenyatta University. Balancing the two was a bit hectic, but it was just one of the things that I needed to do.

Is anyone else in your family musical?

My grandmother, whom I am named after, was. Apparently, I write just like her.

Who gave you the support to keep writing and singing?

First, my family. They are very supportive. I think that once that is intact, everything just flows and external support becomes additional. Their support played such an important role because it meant that I had the freedom to be the best I can be. My peers and my friends were also so supportive at the time I attended Sauti Academy.

Do you remember who you sang your first song to?

It was my class at the programme. I had to present the song that I first wrote. The support from the academy was overwhelming. One of the first rules we were given when starting the programme was that giving feedback should not be done in a mean or condescending manner, because everyone went there to learn. The people were very nice critics.

When do your ideas come to you?

For some reason, mostly when I am doing the dishes. (Laughs). I have no idea why. Maybe it is because my mind is usually blank at that point, so ideas start flowing.

When did you decide that music was your forte?

I have always been inclined towards music since childhood. I was very involved in the music festivals while in high school, at Ngara Girls. The school’s music director was also the director in the Girls’ Choir, as well as the choir in Pumwani and we collaborated a lot. I joined the Girls’ Choir of Kenya right after high school, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That is when I decided that I really did not want to do anything else.

I was in it for just eight months, the period between the completion of my high school and the start of my undergraduate, then my interests changed when I joined the university. I became inclined toward band music, and not choral music anymore.

What would you say your favourite piece is and why?

It is always changing. Currently, my favourites are Aheri and Rongai.

Do you follow a certain formula when writing your songs?

Yes. I am not a poet, like Diamond Platinumz or H_Art the Band. While at Sauti Academy, Mordecai of H_Art the band was my songwriting teacher. I remember struggling to write a certain song, and he just asked me what I wanted to say in the song. I told him and he simply said, “So say it. You do not need to wrap it on birds of the air.’

From then, that is the first question I ask myself before writing a song. It frames everything. There is a method to it.

Which song have you had the most trouble writing? Why?

“Okello”. Normally, I try writing in one session so that I pour all my feelings at that time, but this particular song took two. I just couldn’t get the right words for it. Funny enough, it took me about 10 minutes to write the part that I was struggling with during the second one.

“Okello” is your latest release. What was the inspiration behind it?

It is a story about a girl moving away to pursue greener pastures. Things did not work out for her though, which means that she had to go back.

How would you describe music to you?

Music is literally everything to me. It is my world, who I am, how I express myself, how I go through troubles. I keep telling people about how lucky and privileged I am to feel music the way I do. I would not feel it this way if I was not an artiste.

We were taught in school that this is called an “aesthetic experience”. It touches the deepest part of my being and it is so hard to understand how a collection of sounds can do that.

Describe your music to us.

I try make it very soulful. Telling everyday stories. This is me making people feel what I am feeling or thinking about when I was writing. I have made peace with the fact that I come up with the sound in my songs much later, after writing them.

If I am to give it a name, it would be afro-soul.

Who are your musical inspirations?

I would like to follow in the footsteps of Miriam Makeba, Suzanne Owiyo, and Yemi Alade. People who were authentic and literally changed the world with their music – and it was always all about the music, not the side shows. I look up to strong African women who just do it unapologetically.

Listening to Zilizopendwa growing up really influenced my writing and creation. I was also really into Sauti Sol and Dela in high school.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I am a very old soul. I listen to Zilizopendwa and Rhumba. Then again, I am not closed off. I try being open minded as possible, something that my brother taught me.

Where would you most like to perform?

I saw Adele play at the Royal Albert Hall and I was mind-blown. It is so big, yet so cosy.

Ideally though, I really just want to get to that point where no matter where I am in the world people will know who I am and will connect with what I am singing.

Do you play any instruments?

Yes. I play the drums and the guitar. I am not a pro at either. (Laughs). I picked both of them up while I was at university.

I started with the guitar. I just wanted to learn the chords for the purpose of writing and recently decided to continue learning it for my performances.

I picked up the drums while in my second year of undergraduate studies. I absolutely love playing the drums.

Any hidden talents?

Nope. I am very boring. (Laughs).

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QUICKFIRE

Last thing you ate?

Matoke.

Last thing you drank?

Lemonade.

Last place you travelled to?

Kisumu.

Last song you listened to?

“Neema ya Golgota” by Gabby Kamanzi.

Last time you cried?

Yesterday.

Last person you texted?

My best friend.