Bencuri:
Here is some more guitar works from the Late 70's from a group known as Moja one.
The composer is the singer with the husky vocals, known as Moreno Batamaba (Real Name Batamba Wenda Morris 1955-October 1994).
Moreno was born in Kisangani, Haut-Zaire province, Congo, in 1955. He quit school in 1971 to join Orchestre Maquis Sasa Bata. He moved to Uganda & in 1974 joined Orchestra Bana Ngenge of singer Jojo Ikomo, then moved to Kenya and joined Les Noirs in Mombasa in 1976.
From 1978-80 Moreno was based in Dar-es-Salaam where he sang with Safari Sound before returning to Kenya.
Orchestra Moja One was not a real group, but comprised of session musicians or guest musicians from other groups.
Mostly he sung with tenor Coco Zigo Mike, guitarist Siama Matuzungidi and drummer Lava Machine and other musicians
from Orchestre Shika Shika.
Moreno's biggest hits were "Pili Mswahili," "Dunia ni duara," (in 1981), & "Urembo si hoja." For some time in 1983, Moreno briefly joined Samba Mapangala's Orchestra Virunga in what was perhaps the group's most star-studded line-up ever.
The group which turned the now defunct Starlight Club into the hottest live-music nightspot in Nairobi, featured Coco Zigo, Fataki Lokassa, Dago Mayombe and later Moreno on vocals, along with Ottis and Samba Mapangala; Manitcho Nsilu, Sammy Mansita, Django Nkulu Mwilambwe, Bejos, Siama Matuzungidi and Beya Mikobi Dibuba on guitars, and others, some of whom were only briefly in the band.
Moreno mainly sang in Kiswahili and the themes of his songs varied from social commentaries like "Dunia ni Duara," "Mapenzi ya Shinda" and "Mwanamke Hatosheki," to love songs like "Angela" and "Pili Mswahili."
This last was a song about his girlfriend, Pili Mikendo Kassim, a Tanzanian model he met in 1976 while with Orchestra Les Noirs in Mombasa. His 1993 chart topper was "Vidonge Sitaki," based on a Taraab song by Golden Star, but sadly he died the same year, aged only 38.
His Frist big hit was Dunia ni Duara ( The Earth is Round ) :
And Another hit "Jua Lako " ( Mind your own [business]) :
Enjoy....
