Sauti Sol have world at their feet with a new deal

Early last year, award-winning Kenyan Afro-pop band Sauti Sol made their biggest career move yet by signing up with by Universal Music Africa (UMA), a division of Universal Music Group (UMG).

It took them 11 months to confirm the signing up with an official announcement on January 31. The news came a few months after the group signed up with the Africa Creative Agency, an international talent management agency.

Other elite African artistes signed by Africa Creative Agency include Tanzanian superstars Diamond, Rayvanny and Vanessa Mdee.

MIDNIGHT TRAIN

ACA chief executive Colin Gayle said the announcement was made in line with the release of music from Sauti Sol’s upcoming album “Midnight Train”.

“We felt that the music should talk for us. We were focused on making sure that the first conversation to have with you would be through the music,” he said.

One of the world’s leading companies, UMG owns and operates a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.

It also identifies and develops recording artistes and songwriters, produces, distributes and promotes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to fans around the world. Some of the internationally acclaimed artistes signed to the group are Billie Eilish, Sam Smith, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Toni Braxton, Shaggy, Wyclef Jean, Tiwa Savage and Drake.

EXTENSIVE CATALOGUE

So extensive is the UMG catalogue that the signed artistes’ names are usually outlined in alphabetical order, perhaps for ease of wading through the maze that is the music label’s all-inclusive list in terms of diverse genres.

Against the backdrop of live performance concert tours across Africa, the US, Europe and Australia, Sauti Sol has earned recognition from a fast-growing multinational fan base.

Along the way, Sauti Sol has earned successive accolades, including international awards, a BET Awards nomination, an MTV EMA for Best African Act and MTV Africa Award for Best African Group.

The agreement will give the four-man band access to UMG’s global network around the world and will allow greater opportunity for the band to reach new audiences globally. It will also provide Sauti Sol with international support and infrastructure needed to amplify them on the global arena.

Soon after the announcement, Sipho Dlamini, the UMG managing director for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement, said they were delighted to announce their partnership with Sauti Sol, describing them as one of the most innovative and creative groups to have broken through from Africa in recent years.

NEW LISTENERS

“We look forward to working together with Sauti Sol to ensure they are able to authentically celebrate Africa through music and to help introduce their unique blend Afro-pop to new listeners everywhere,” said Dlamini.

He added that Universal Music Africa is dedicated to helping the best African music talent reach new audiences around the world and that they are excited to welcome them to the global UMG family.

According to Colin and the four-man band comprising vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi, and guitarist Polycarp Otieno, UMG didn’t want to change the band or their music. They only wanted to fuel it to greater levels.

Colin said: “Our job is very simple: to open doors, amplify their plans, help them think in the process and give them the tools to be successful. The agreement really started with looking at what the group really wanted to say creatively.”

With that, the group flew to South Africa to start production of “Midnight Train” at UMG South Africa Studios.

Guitarist Polycarp said: “The best part of ‘Midnight Train’ is the fact that we brought out the best of Sauti Sol. UMG knew how capable and ready we were. We wanted to be ourselves, and that’s what we did.”

INDEPENDENT

Grammy Award-winning record producer and American songwriter Andre “Dre” Harris flew to the Cape with the band to produce some of the songs from the album. He has helped shape the sound of R&B/Soul music for the past two decades, having worked with artistes like Usher, Chris Brown, Ciara and Jill Scott.

Just like the music label, Andre “got behind what the boys wanted to do, and poured his skill-set to them as well”, according to Colin.

“The band has been independent for five years. We decided to take a step back this time round. Recording the album under UMG gave us the opportunity to collaborate with different producers, musicians and songwriters,” echoed vocalist and guitarist Bien.

Set to be released in May, the album includes collaborations with Sho Madjozi, Burna Boy, India Arie, and Soweto Gospel Choir, among other artistes.

“Suzanna”, the first single to be released from their fifth studio album, has received some massive airplay barely a month after its release.

With over three million views on YouTube as of Thursday, the song portrays an image of the current generational issues and the extremities that young men and women will go to to afford a luxurious lifestyle, which more often than not will be financed by older men or older women.

The video, which is directed by Leki Alaba Isama, is shot in Lagos. Adopting the 70s, 80s style, the setting brings out the original African style and culture — something the band says it will run with when recording the other songs.

MAJORITY STAKE

Chimano says: “We wanted the album to represent each and every one of us, so we went back in time to the music our parents, uncles and aunties listened to growing up. We have really become the aunties and uncles of our generation,” he says laughing.

“The same aesthetic and standard of visual quality will run throughout the album.”

Back in 2018, UMG acquired a majority stake in Kenyan record label Al Records in a deal that gave the American multinational access to one of the largest catalogues of East African music.

The deal meant UMG acquired rights to archive, digitise and sell East African music internationally.

Through its Dutch subsidiary, UMG bought 70 per cent of the Kenyan company with some of the region’s best-loved musicians, including Orchestra Super Mazembe, Afro 70, and Western Jazz.

American record labels are increasingly looking to Africa. Warner Music Group recently inked a deal with Afrobeats label Chocolate City, while Sony Music’s RCA record label has signed some of the continent’s leading artistes such as Davido and Wizkid.