Maia & the Big Sky
Country Kenya Genres fusion Website www.maiavonlekow.com Facebook /maiavonlekow Festival Sauti za Busara 2010, 2018 Recordings 📼 Maia von Lekow (EP, 2008); Drift (Album, 2012); Maia & the Big Sky (Album, 2017)
Collaborations: Blinky Bill ft. Maia von Lekow, Don’t Doubt (2016); Afriquoi ft. Maia von Lekow, Shika Kamba (2016)
Lola - Maia & The Big Sky [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
Maia & the Big Sky Maia & The Big Sky experiment with coastal polyrhythms, mixing these with funk, reggae, jazz and folk, creating a familiarity and warmth that transcends continents. Maia von Lekow’s lyrics in both English and Kiswahili touch on power, love, politics and the strength of women.
Maia has shared stages with artists such as Keziah Jones (Nigeria), James Blunt (UK), Habib Koite (Mali), Thandiswa & Mafikizolo (South Africa). Her hypnotic velvet vocals and highly-engaging live act has travelled all over the world, highlighting the diversity of Kenyan music.
Recordings include 2008's self-titled EP featuring “Oyster” which appeared on Warner Poland's Ladies' Jazz Album Vol 6, and “Uko Wapi” which earned her two African Academy Awards for best sound track. Her debut album Drift, released in 2012 featured the highly-acclaimed single “Jellyfish”.
The new album’s first single 'Lola' includes a stop-motion music video and has received radio airplay across the world. The next video single 'Pawa' featuring Blinky Bill will shortly be unveiled.
Maia has toured in USA, UK, Australia and East Africa. Festival performances included Africa Utopia (UK), HIFA (Zimbabwe), Sauti za Busara (Zanzibar), Blankets & Wine (Kenya), Visa for Music (Morocco), Woodford Folk Festival and Perth International Arts Festival (Australia).
"Maia’s tunes bring a new sense of 'chill' to the African music scene" – OkayAfrica
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