Born out of a friendship between two producers JakobLiechti who is also professionally referred to as “Kaboo” (Bern) and Frank Amanya also widely known as “Baru”(Uganda), the final product has been “Longitude 20” the album.
The two producers met in 2021 when Kaboo (formerly known as “Daddy Cabu”) was working on his second single in Uganda. Their shared passion for the sophisticated and experimental production own sounds quickly led to a friendship. Created in January 2022 during a project with recordings of traditional Ugandan music, Baru and Kaboocame up with the idea of producing music together. The recorded samples served as the basis for the first beats – and what about the idea for a single began, was quickly expanded into an album with many artists involved.
For Bernese artist Kaboo, “Longitude 20” is after three singles (‘Mbagala Nyo’, ‘Niko Tayari’ and ‘We Get Up’) the first album release. In addition to his work as a producer, he works as a live and/or studio mixer and works for Jeans 4 Jesus, Mario Batkovic and other artists.
Baru on the other hand has already released three albums and several EPs, and among these are (Lions And Lambs, It Is What It Is), Precious (Magdalene), and most recently ‘Chwez Funk’, which he has also released in Uganda, won several music awards in Uganda where he lives and works full-time as an audio engineer and Producer.
The diverse and surprising 10-track project by the two just landed and it carries with it features from both Bern and Ugandan acts: Nativ, Baze, Mario Batkovic, Greis from Bern and and parts of Jeans for Jesus were recruited for the project. The musical guest appearances from Uganda including: Akeine, Joshua Bakara, A Pass, Likkle Bangji, Erdine K, Josh Moziah, and Taidai contributed to the album.
Each brought something special when they hit the studio; effortlessly fitting into the unique sound image and production by Kaboo and Baru which is felt throughout the album cutting across and cheerfully combining genres Hip hop, Afrobeat, Gqom, Pop, and traditional or classic elements sung and rapped in English, French, Luganda, Rutooro, Bern German and Lhukonzo.
One could help but wonder what’s the idea behind the name of the album: Longitude 20. Well, the title of the LP stands symbolic of the middle between these two places.
The production of “Longitude 20” as a project was funded by the cultural promotion of the city of Bern, the canton of Bern and the Burgergemeinde Bern supported. Do listen to it now on all major music streaming and downloading platforms:
