Being in the music business for years, Pine Creek Records CEO Mr. Peter Nduati has perfected the art of taking risks in the music scene and the importance of the same.
Three years ago, he took a leap of faith, investing a fortune in a novelty project called Pass the Mic.
This is a powerful project that revolves around Kenyan African music of yesteryears that he would wish his children to understand and other curious souls out there.
These songs make him and thousands of others nostalgic, having grown up in the era when they were composed and released.
This is the major reason he acquired the exclusive rights to re-interpret and rewrite Les Wanyika’s stellar timeless music.
The aim of the Pass the Mic project is to create continuity and synchrony through generations of music from the 70s onwards into 2030 to ensure artistes learn from the many great lessons the previous generations have to give even as they create new context based on their current environment.
The Pine Creek record label selected 12 Les Wanyika songs, mashed up Kenyan top artistes and record producers to contemporize the songs; fusing them to modern afro-beats sound but still maintaining the originality that made us fall in love with them in the first place.
Anyone listening to the new songs will most definitely identify with the original song.
The project was later floated to ABSA Kenya who came on board and sponsored five of the 12 songs in the project. Money from the sponsorship went into paying for artistes’ studio sessions, video recording, and re-writing of the songs.
Pine Creek records picked Pass the Mic idea when American super-producer DJ Khaled teamed up with Rihanna and sampled a 1990 hit song ‘Maria Maria’ by Carlos Santana and The Product G&B to produce another hit banger dubbed ‘Wild Thoughts’, four years ago. Peter Nduati wanted a local version of the same, and he managed to pull it off seamlessly.
Artistes in the project whose renditions have been released include Khaligraph Jones, Serro, Guardian Angel, Bire The Vocalist, Arrow Bwoy, Amos, and Josh.
The pending projects set to be released later on have been done by Fena, Hart The Band, and afro-fusion singer Atemi Oyungu.
