All Things Kenyan

I Dreamed of Africa Soundtrack

TITLE: I Dreamed of Africa Soundtrack
Artists: Maurice Jarre, Ayub Ogada, Geoffrey Oryema
Produced by: Maurice Jarre
Original Release Date: 2000
Listening Time: 59 minutes 58 seconds
Distributed by: Varese Sarabande
What I Liked:
Naturally, I liked Ondiek (Track 2) and Obiero (Track 7) by Ayub Ogada along with Kel Kweyo (Track 4) by Geoffrey Oryema.  These songs are authenic and they should be.  Ayub Ogada is a Luo from Kenya and Geoffrey is Ugandan.  It’s nice that East African musicians were picked instead of another region of Africa.  After all, Kuki Gallmann does live in Kenya.

What I Didn’t Like:
The music composed by Maurice Jarre sounds like, well, movie soundtrack music.  Listening to the CD straight through the music just doesn’t flow together like it should.  Even Jarre’s individual compositions are choppy.  Jarre attempts to weave Italian and African themes together.  The idea makes sense since Kuki Gallmann grew up in Italy and later moved to Kenya.  However, Jarre’s attempts fail and result in music that isn’t easy to listen to.

To Sum Up:
This CD doesn’t work for me as listening music.  You will be better off to pick up the Ayub Ogada CD En Mana Kuoyo or one of these CDs by Geoffrey Oryema – Exile, Beat the Border, Night to Night, or Spirit.

This copy of the I Dreamed of Africa Soundtrack was purchased by me with my own funds.