Sauti Sol
Sauti Sol are an influential Kenyan Afro-pop vocal group whose rich harmonic blend, organic arrangements, and message-driven songwriting helped set them apart from other African acts at the end of the 2000s. Beginning with 2009's Mwanzo, they consistently charted their own course, infusing traditional Kenyan styles and rhythms with upbeat melodic pop and mixing edgy themes of police violence and political corruption with smooth R&B-flavored love songs, earning numerous awards and a multitude of fans in the process. Following 2015's Live and Die in Afrika, the band strayed into more electronic-oriented pop territory with the highly collaborative 2019 set Afrikan Sauce.
Formed in Nairobi in 2005, the initial trio of high school friends Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano, and Savara Mudigi began as an a cappella group before introducing guitarist Polycarp Otieno into the mix. Taking on the name Sauti Sol ("Sauti" being the Swahili word for sound and "Sol" the Spanish word for sun), they participated in a local competition that earned them a spot on a 2006 compilation and a deal with Penya Records. After all four members graduated from college, Sauti Sol recorded their debut album, Mwanzo, in 2009. Its eclectic mix included romantic odes, political protest songs, and sunny paeans to the natural beauty of their home and earned the group a significant fan base around East Africa. Sol Filosofia followed in 2011 and earned the band a pair of Kisima Music Awards. A 2012 collaborative EP with South Africa's Spoek Mathambo increased their visibility, as did the controversial 2014 single "Nishike," whose sexually explicit video was banned by numerous Kenyan television stations. It appeared on their expansive 2015 release Live and Die in Afrika, which was the first on their own Sauti Sol Entertainment label.
Taking a more significant step toward modern R&B and contemporary Afro-pop sounds, the quartet teamed up with a variety of collaborators for their fourth album, Afrikan Sauce. Released in 2019, it featured high-profile guests like Bebe Cool, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, and Patoranking. They quickly followed it up in similar fashion with 2020's Midnight Train, which included collaborations with the Soweto Gospel Choir and India.Arie.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
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Discography
32 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Midnight Train
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 5 jun. 2020
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Birthday Song (feat. Khaligraph Jones)
Nviiri The Storyteller, Sauti Sol, Bensoul
Afrika - Released by Sol Generation Records on 5 feb. 2021
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Midnight Train
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 5 jun. 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Afrikan Sauce
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 31 jan. 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Suzanna
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 7 feb. 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Live and Die in Afrika
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 27 nov. 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Lil Mama
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 25 nov. 2022
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
No Wivu (feat. Bensoul, Polycarp & Savara)
Yumbs, Soul Nativez, Sauti Sol
Dance - Released by EXODUS ENTERTAINMENT on 25 nov. 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Extravaganza
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 27 mei 2019
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Sol Filosofia
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 25 feb. 2011
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Kuliko Jana (Acapella version)
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 14 sep. 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Brighter Days
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 17 apr. 2020
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Mwanzo
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 4 aug. 2009
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Tujiangalie - EP
Wereldmuziek - Released by Sauti Sol on 21 apr. 2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Oversized T-shirt
Afrika - Released by Matata Norge on 14 okt. 2022
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Unconditionally Bae
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainment on 15 apr. 2016
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Friendzone
Afrika - Released by Sauti Sol Entertainemnt on 7 jul. 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Disco Matanga (Yambakhana)
Afrika - Released by Universal Music (Pty) Ltd. on 28 feb. 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo