If there is any one singer whose music has most recently captured my attention, it is 26-year-old singer, songwriter, and now producer and performing artist Bowman Aremwaki. This hasn’t been just been in my world but Bowman has gained recognition on the urban music scene at large as one of the exciting acts to grace the Ugandan music scene, thanks to his unique blend of Afrobeats into RnB and he does this with a unique approach of singing in his native language. He’s recently outed his debut body of work ‘Public Notice’ and it has been creating such a buzz, all owing to his distinctive multi-lingual lyrics that infuse Rukiga into English among other languages.
While in an interview with Kenyan Writer, Culture journalist, and Critic Frank Njugi for Afrocritik, Bowman revealed that ‘Mumbai’, the lead single on his EP borrowed from Zimbabwean and South African cultures by way of language as he sang some parts of its lyrics in Shona, a language that’s pre-dominantly spoken and understood in those countries.
The fast-rising crooner added that he believes that music is a universal language and that is why he, therefore, sings in his mother tongue “Rukiga” in most of his records because when he set out to make music with his then-collective Shwento (made up of him, Agaba Collins alias Agaba Banjo and Simbaraishe Goodson, that was their goal. It is therefore his life and career goal to teach and take Rukiga to the world, the way he best knows how, through music. He also added that he was already fascinated at how Kenyans, Nigerians, and Tanzanians, to mention but a few have successfully exported their languages through music, and he was like why not give it a shot?
Read Also: SHWENTO – The Enigmatic Ugandan Musical Trio On The Rise.
Listening to ‘Mumbai’, or any of Bowman Aremwaki’s solo releases, your ear might catch a producer tag that goes like “1998”. During the interview, the rising star revealed that while living with Simbaraishe Goodson, one-third of the Shwento collective, he got to learn production and that 1998 was inspired by his year of birth. He went on to say that from time and again, he enlists professionals when it comes to mixing and mastering his music. Bowman went on to say the reason he prefers to produce his own music and only take it to another when in the final stages is because, first, he enjoys making it since it feels authentic to him 100% when he does it himself, and that it is also way easier when you approach someone with a track that’s almost complete. He says:
Before I learnt how to produce my own music, I struggled a lot with establishing a connection between the producers I worked with and the kind of sound I wanted for my music. It becomes easier to work with an engineer or another producer when you have already done 70% of the production work, and all they have to do is take it to 90% or towards 100%.
While on the same interview, Bowman shared the story of how his childhood paved the way for his music journey and the future of East African music.
Reflecting on his childhood, Bowman shared how it paved the way for his musical journey and his vision for the future of East African music. In addition to his work with Shwento, Bowman has collaborated with Zagazillion and JukeBox.
Public Notice’, Bowman Aremwaki’s debut EP comprising five tracks, is now available worldwide. Give it a listen and let me know your favorites!
