In just one weekend, they visited about half of Nairobi’s top clubs, all in the wee hours of the night.
They arrived unannounced, got on stage, belted out their hearts out for a measly 10 minutes and their job was done.
They are party starters and their main goal is to set the mood and tone of the nightlife.
They’re not your average group of guys jumping up and down on stage trying to elicit reactions; It’s a brass band, in sync like a well-oiled engine and with the skill of Olympic ballerinas.
It’s the only one of its kind in all of sub-Saharan Africa, and in this case, it came with a saxophone player, a trombonist, a DJ, a trumpet player, two drummers, and a band in full swing.
Known as the Jägermeister Brass Cartel, they are based in South Africa and are elevating nightlife experiences around the world. This is their third time performing in Kenya. They talk to BDLife About their musical experience and tour around Nairobi last weekend.
Their creation was the result of a carefully crafted intention to have a festive, unsettling experience that can enter into spaces and turn them lively.
“We consider ourselves party goers and all-night performers; our job is to light up the party, raise the mood, and then leave,” says band spokeswoman Masia Malusi-Reginald.
It was formed about eight years ago by a woman named Pia who was head of marketing and experimentation at Jägermeister.
“Germany had a band called Brass Capella and they wanted to recreate it in South Africa. They took the concept of a very traditional oom-pah band and added a lot of slaughter. There were very strong intentions not only for us to be a group that played and was raw and proper, but to be that kind of The band that sits at the tables, makes noise, and is as socially disruptive as possible.
From a brand perspective, they see themselves as the future of nightlife, and see themselves as rule breakers, a modern evolution of the oom-pah band but with fresher, edgier, spicier, classier and more exciting flavours.
Every member of the band is a trained musician and master of this art. Initially the band was a 13-piece band composed of players from both the woodwind and brass families, but over time, they were able to work with smaller numbers while maintaining quality by changing their style.
Part of its driving force is to make people fall back in love with musical instruments, considering that we live in the era of electronic music.
“We are a way to incorporate the old into the new but in a more fun way.”
They have noticed that because of their playing, people fall in love with brass instruments again.
“If you look at amapiano music now, which is popular music in our country, you will find them now incorporating more brass and woodwind work into their compositions, an example of which is the song ‘Horns in the Sun’ which includes horns. You can easily say that brass instruments have easily become popular.”
Their appeal comes from an energy and abrasiveness that is very unapologetic and pleases their fans.
“Brass instruments are loud and proud. You can’t just walk into spaces and play brass instruments and have people go about their business, the nature of the instruments demands attention and people like that. So having instruments that take you out of your normal mode of operation and take you into a different space through something that’s very noisy and in Your own space is perhaps one of its appeals.
In addition, they also have drums and DJ accompaniment which is an evolution and fusion of a modern and traditional band that adds a distinct flavor to their work.
They link their growing popularity to the demand for authentic experiences.
“Live music is a real experience and people are craving real, live, tangible experiences which is exciting. Most of the times we have performed at festivals with big artists, people usually come up to us and tell us that they enjoyed listening to us because it was a completely different experience from the monotony of it all.” last.
They tell me that their music is not one dimensional in terms of genre, they play a very wide range and that is why they have a range of tracks that are able to reach a wide audience and not just one demographic or genre.
“Since our music is high energy in nature, we sometimes find that most of our audience leans more towards the younger side, but for the most part the age range of our fans is between 18 and 45.”
When choosing their music, they often go for signature songs that cover a wider range of audience. For the newer songs, they try to choose ones that will not just be hit wonders but mostly songs that have legs on them and can last through time.
As for what influences their creativity, they note that their songs are designed for everyone to enjoy. They mostly try to look for songs that are timeless and appeal to a wide range of audience so as not to leave anyone behind.
Kenya is exciting to them, and they describe Nairobi as having welcoming people, some really good food, lovely energy and a lively atmosphere which is fun to experience.
They noticed from their Kenyan performance that the dance and language were a big hit for them.
“Kenya has some amazing dance moves and energy, and Kenyan shows leave you with the experience that people are actually having fun and not showing off in any way, and when you get such energy from the audience, it’s easy to resonate and give it back into your performance. Swahili is also a beautiful language It speaks to the heart.
Although there are no Kenyan artists included in their set, there are plans to do so on future tours of the country.
For their performance in Kenya, connecting with people was the most important part of their tour.
“The song choices and sets are just one aspect of the show, and sometimes one doesn’t even remember what song they were performing, but you remember the audience’s reaction to your songs, and for us, Nairobi was magical.”
How do they attract a global audience?
“You can always look at the audience and see how different they are, but there are things in common like a love of music, a love of teamwork, a love of emotion, and at the end of the day you have to look at those things as a common goal. And leverage that goal and provide people with good experiences. It also boils down to a desire The fans want to listen to what we do, because if they didn’t, we wouldn’t exist. The fact that we can get into people’s spaces and be very loud and intrusive and that people go along with that is beautiful.
For them, what sets the Kenyan crowd apart from their African counterparts is that they like to party very late. The only close comparison to Nairobi is Berlin which they say is also a very backward city.
As they depart Kenya for South Africa, upon their return the band promises to deliver unforgettable, high-energy experiences that leave audiences buzzing long after the music has finished.
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