Art Underworld: SANASANA BAND

Sanasana is an upcoming band based in Maseno University. Don’t be mistaken because it is not part of the Maseno University band which has been an inspiration too in regards to how they handle most of their performances. The name Sanasana is a derivative from the first song done by the group that was originally written and performed by Dan Chizi. The band started when William Weswa commonly known as Williwes and Dickens who met in various artistic and musical events. One of these events was the music festivals and on meeting later at Maseno University, the two forged their dreams to the Sanasana we can see today.

The first Sanasana performance was outside Maseno University Media department to a friend of the band on phone who was in ICU and had requested a song Lazizi by the all-boys band Sauti Sol. At the risk of sounding superstitious she was discharged a week later. The performance created a need to come up with more songs to pass time and enjoy talent in the most subtle of ways. At this point Steve Babu joined the two man army with a bongo/Swahili blend. He later left to pursue a solo career in music. Two more people joined as soon as he had left. These are King, a guitarist, and Betty a vocalist.

Sanasana grew from having one guitarist who also doubled up as a vocalist to having two guitarists, one doing the lead and the other on the rhythm both using acoustic guitars. There was more need for variety and Betty gave the band a Rock touch that was added to the original Afro jazz fusion as was the Sanasana signature. As fate would have it, Betty had to leave the group due to her transfer to the city campus of Maseno University. Her place was filled by two more people, Adrian a bass vocalist and Olave a female lead vocalist. Later on we saw the need of versatility and introduced a violinist. Sanasana has since grown from a two man band to a big family of seven. From then on, Sanasana has had various big performances. These include having a live band show at bootleggers, a club in Kisumu, the school’s annual international cuisine at Kisumu Hotel. The cuisine has been the oldest Sanasana signature performance. Sanasana perform at weddings, major school events, performed at ISO certification of the Lake Basin Development Authority and also as the guest band at various clubs on live band days or on karaoke nights in Kisumu.

Our reputation has preceded us around school and the group keeps growing artistically and in stature. Sanasana is now working on own compositions but in the meantime colourful renditions of local and international hits rent the air whenever Sanasana step onto the scene. We perform every Thursday in school at spoken heart, an artistic event organised by the students to appreciate and nurture art and talent. This is the cradle of many artists and we are proud to be associated with the group.