TAKE 5: George Gachiri

Tell us a little bit about the two bands that you play in.

A.S.I.A. is short for "Always Summer In Africa". This band is made up of Njeri “Rish” Muchai, Jessica Colaco, George Atsula and I. I would describe us as rock/fusion band, we have really good chemistry. Our first gig will be this month on the 28th, playing alongside Rash at The Blues Restaurant in Nairobi. The other band I am in, Kanyeki, is made up of Kanyeki, William (Skygrave Twilight), Cyrus, Hueskillz/Lelli Mandela and I. This is a hard rock band that is intense and aggressive. Our vocals are in Kikuyu, and we have been nominated for an AFRIMA award.

Why play in two bands?

It wasn’t intentional, it just happened. Kanyeki reached out to me since he needed a guitarist, and I said, ‘why not?’ As for how I ended up in A.S.I.A, Kanyeki and I went for a gig and we saw Rish. They are fans of each other and we just hit it off and ended up making a band. It was organic and random stuff. It works out well for me because the bands have different practice times. Also, when I made the decision to join, I was already familiar with their songs. Both bands are familiar with each other’s songs, in fact, Rish will be singing some Kanyeki tracks live on May 12 this year at The Blues. It’s a very collaborative vibe we have going on. I’ll be playing for both bands on the same day. I am currently studying for my remaining actuarial exams – I have passed 12 exams and I am left with three. I am studying for my second masters in Applied Actuarial Science at University of Kent in the UK. I returned home during the election period when companies were not hiring, so I decided to read and play the guitar. If they want me they will find me on stage playing some solos!

Why did you pick rock?

I love rock music. It was the only genre of music that soothed me when I was young, so my parents often played it. Nowadays though, I’m less singular in my musical appreciation. I get inspired by any genre really. If a song is good, it’s good. Just the other day I did a guitar cover of Sauti Sol’s "Rewind" on my YouTube channel Hybrid Intuition. I play an extended range 7-string guitar. It’s a Schecter and it’s amazing. I also have a 6-string Seagull guitar. I really want to get the Tosin Abasi 8-string with fishman fluence pickups. I think I’ve lost many readers with my guitar jargon so I’ll stop there.

Thanks for the education. Where can we find your work?

I released an album called "The way of the hybrid". It is on Bandcamp, Wabeeh and SoundCloud. The album is instrumental and is made up of 15 tracks. Each track corresponds to an actuarial exam (you need 15 papers to become a fellow). I wanted to tie in my musical and scientific side, though one could argue that both sides are the same. My handle is hybridintuition on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp and Google plus.

What’s your take on Kenya’s music sector?

I like that it is still green, meaning that you can do anything with it. We also have the advantage of social media, which enables us to reach a wider audience than our predecessors were able to. It’s a beautiful time to be a creative. It’s a beautiful time to be anything really. The downside is that few are putting out their content while the rest are overthinking it. Just do it. What’s the worst that can happen? What are they afraid of? I also think people prioritise other people’s opinions over their own happiness too often. To be blunt, we will not live forever, so why don’t you make the most of this time and do you? Keep it simple. Self-improvement is the name of the game. Everything else is just noise.