Ayub Ogada - His final performance and interview

Job Seda, better known by his stage name Ayub Ogada, stands as perhaps the most internationally acclaimed musician to emerge from Kenya. His unconventional approach to traditional music created a unique legacy that bridges ancient sounds with modern sensibilities.

The Instrument

Ayub's chosen voice was the Nyatiti, a traditional eight-stringed plucked lyre approximately three feet long. This ancient instrument's journey likely began in Persia, entering Egypt before spreading through East Africa via Nubia. For the Luo community along Lake Victoria's shores, the Nyatiti celebrates births and marriages, and mourns the departed.
Crafted from a bowl-shaped piece of wood covered with stretched cowhide as a resonator, its strings—originally cow tendon, now fishing line—run over reed-like bamboo pieces and wooden elements secured with beeswax.

While musicologists believe the instrument was earlier known as 'thum' (meaning "music" in Luo) and later as 'thum nyatiti' (derived from the single 'titi' note it produces), Ayub offered his own interpretation. He suggested "Nyatiti" combines the Luo words 'nyar' (daughter/queen) and 'titi' (the instrument's sound)—thus meaning "queen or daughter of the clan."

Traditionally, Luo men play the Nyatiti while seated on a low stool called 'orindi' or 'then.' Metal shakers ('gara') attach to the right ankle, with a metal ring ('oduongo') fixed to the right big toe, struck against the instrument's bottom to create rhythm.

Unlike most Nyatiti players who learn from village masters as children, Ayub taught himself at the Bomas of Kenya cultural center. He attended just six lessons—each costing less than $1—before developing his craft independently.
His tuning and finger-plucking techniques diverged radically from tradition. Though different from pioneering masters like Otuoma Ogolo, Ogola Opot and Ogwnag' Lelo, Ayub's innovative approach earned him recognition among the greatest Nyatiti players ever. His hit "Koth Biro" ("It's Gonna Rain"), adapting a Luo folk song he first recorded in 1977 with Black Savage, showcases this mastery.

Ayub acknowledged the difference between playing informally at home and performing abroad: "When I'm at home, I'm free, I don't care about my tuning. When I'm playing in Europe, the violin wants to come in, the guitar wants to come in, so now I need to be tuned."

His unique style—plucking and tuning the Nyatiti similarly to an acoustic guitar—resulted from necessity. As he put it, he had to "adapt to survive."

Today, East Africa's renowned Benga music genre owes its distinctive sound to the Nyatiti's influence. Luo Benga guitarists pluck Western guitars rapidly in the same manner as the Nyatiti, rather than "massaging" strings as Congolese musicians often do. Though Benga peaked in the 1960s-70s, the genre continues evolving, carried forward by successful musicians who, like Ayub, adapt tradition for modern ears.

Recorded in Lake Region, near Nyahera location, not far from Kisumu town.