Steven Sogo

Steven Sogo is a rising star in the nascent Burundian music scene and the recent winner of the 2010 PAM Award.

Steven is a young, dynamic musician from Kamenge, a popular area of Burundi´s capital Bujumbura who took up the guitar aged 14 in the middle of the civil war to express his wish to live a normal life. His music is pure, original blues: a cry for life, full of pain and hope at the same time. The desire for peace and hope for new life after the long war years are important subjects in his songs. He sings in Kirundi, Swahili and in French.

Steven not only fuses modern instruments with traditional burundian instruments, but also takes also traditional rhythms and tunes and rearranges and modernizes them.

STEVEN SOGO was born on the 1st of April 1983, music rapidly became a passion. In 1997 he became an active member at the Kamenge Youth Center where he started to work with different bands before forming his own band "Hope Street" in 2005. Today Steven is considered to be the best bassplayer in Burundi as well as the most original artist of his country.

Recently he was selected by the World Bank Institute to be Burundi´s music ambassador. STEVEN SOGO wants to be an example for the new Burundian generation - to make them be proud of their culture instead of neglecting it.

As Womad's Nigel Tassell points out Sogo is "one of the keenest talents of Burundian music's new wave ... His songs cut to the chase on the matters of the day, all delivered in a soulful, plaintive voice and often endowed with a gentle central African swing. That his tasteful little band answer to the name of Hope Street speaks volumes." (Womad.org) - xxxx

Il est beau mon pays (It Is Beautiful, My Country)
Fidjo Music

Burundi's Steven Sogo is a premier singer/guitarist with an ear for great-sounding music and a clear, creative vision that does not disappoint. All eight songs are sung in Kirundi, Swahili, and French. The overall feel of the album is not particularly traditional or overly-polished. There are hints of African percussion, but for the most part, Steven's guitar and vocals convey a primarily Afro-pop tone indicative of Mauritania's Daby Toure. The Afro-pop-French connection is very much alive here. The relatively simplistic instrumentation does not detract in any way from the catchy tunes. Not only is Steven's country 'beautiful', but his music can be described in the exact same manner. This is the best Burundi has to offer. Anyone interested in Central and Eastern African guitar music should find Steven Sogo to be a welcome addition to any collection. ~ Matthew Forss
Posted by Matthew Forss at 10:30 AM
Labels: africa, Afro-pop, burundi, fidjo music, guitar, Steven Sogo, vocalist - Mathew Forss