Band: Extra Golden
From: USA and Nairobi
Sound: A blissful marriage of traditional rock and Benga with shades of Afropop, shuffling guitars, and stuttering rhythms
Similar Artists: Konono No. 1, Kapere Jazz Band, Fela Kuti, Orchestra Extra Solar Africa
Listen Now: “Obama”

There are few things in rock and roll so heavily mythologized and self-consciously manipulated as “the origin story.” It’s the burden of this bit of folklore that bands must shoulder in the same way a superhero might, always aware that an incisive probe into their very essence and soul starts here, ground zero, the beginnings. “How did you meet?” is not only the slow-pitch rallying cry of inquisitive journalists, but the self-volunteered bit of trivia that often litters most bands’ press releases and bios before the question can even be breathlessly asked.

As a result, we end up with soundbites like, “He nicked my bottle of vodka so I punched him in the face; we decided to form a band the next day” (here I’m paraphrasing Franz Ferdinand) or, “We were the only kids messed up enough to skip class and listen to Joy Division and cut ourselves; it was us against the world” (okay I made that one up).

And these are all wonderful stories. There’s inherent drama, conflict, and a sense of purpose in each. Still, there’s nothing out there quite like the origin story of Extra Golden. While other bands’ painstakingly created tales might belong on VH1, MTV or even TMZ, Extra Golden’s personal odyssey would probably fit best as a PBS special.

Boy Meets Benga

(Cue flashback sequence with harp flourishes and screen dissolve) It all began when Oberlin grad Ian Eagleson - a burgeoning ethnomusicologist – received a grant to study music in Kenya. He arrived with a used laptop that would also service as a portable recording studio and set out to record many of the local bands, all of which played a native variation on rock music – using the same core instruments of electric guitar, bass and drums – called Benga.

“Even though Benga has a local approach to it, it’s coming from a similar background as rock,” Eagleson told EAR FARM via phone interview recently. “You can hear it in the chords, in the beats, based off of what they call rumba, which is something they were playing in the U.S. as well. The connection goes back to older rock, we’re not talking about Blue Oyster Cult.”

“And even the culture behind it is similar,” he added. “There are bands of young people struggling to make a record and play in clubs, even the record business over there, there’s always been a lot of small independent labels. It’s surprising how similar these things can be even though life is completely different there.”

It was during these laptop recording sessions that Eagleson began working very closely with virtuoso Kenyan musicians Otieno Jagwasi and Onyango Wuod Omari. At the same time, Eagleson’s college friend and former bandmate Alex Minoff – the two had formed the band Golden back at Oberlin – happened to be touring Europe and decided to fly down to Nairobi to check out the project. Can you guess what happened next? Golden + (Jagwasi + Omari) = Extra Golden!

Ok-Oyot Nights

“Ok-Oyot” apparently translates to “it’s not easy”, but I’m fairly certain Extra Golden would beg to differ. They did after all record the majority of their debut album Ok-Oyot System in a single afternoon. As it turns out, in Kenya the “single-take” rule is the golden rule.

“Yeah, in Kenya they kind of live by that as a rule,” Eagleson said. “There’s not much screwing around, and it’s mostly out of necessity; they don’t have a choice. It’s hard to find a location to record in Kenya, so I did most of my recordings in clubs which are out of commission during the daytime, so they’re quiet and you can set up there. I had recorded a couple bands at a club called the Annex over on the east side of Nairobi so we just recorded it there.”

And according to Eagleson, both Jagwasi and Omari excelled in this environment, having spent their entire professional careers getting a single take to record their parts perfectly.

“I’ve always appreciated that style of practicing, getting something where it needs to be and recording it directly without much fuss,” he said. “If you talk to a lot of musicians they’ll tell you the first take is the best anyway.”

Apart from a few minimal overdubs later added by Eagleson and Minoff, Ok-Oyot System was completed in that fateful afernoon in 2004. Just like that. Four musicians perched on a concrete slab in an empty nightclub for three hours capturing lightning in a bottle. And yet, the record would not be released until May of 2006.

Tragedy and Triumph

In the two-year period between the record’s completion and distribution a tragic event occurred. Otieno Jagwasi died of liver failure in 2005, giving the rest of the band further drive to see that the album received a proper release while leaving their future as Extra Golden uncertain.

Any doubts would soon dissipate by the flood of goodwill that greeted Ok-Oyot System and performance requests that followed. Determined to soldier on, the remaining members rallied and invited Opiyo Bilongo – another Kenyan musician with whom Eagleson had worked closely during his time in Nairobi – to fill Jagwasi’s void.

“Out of most of the people I had worked with while in Kenya it seemed that his style of playing guitar and composing songs would go really well with the unique thing we were doing with Extra Golden,” Eagleson explained. “So we got him involved and eventually got to the U.S. to perform and after that small tour in 2006 we recorded the new record.”

This “new record” would be 2007s Hera Ma Nono, recorded in a comparatively luxurious five-day span in Lakeville, PA. Those extra four days of recording seemed to have paid off as well, as the album brims with kinetic life and energy via dazzlingly nimble guitar lines, heartfelt melodies, and insanely precise yet playful rhythms.

The Vampire Weekend Effect and Obama’s House Band?

So now Extra Golden is officially a worldwide entity, conducting cross-continental jam sessions between Africa and the United States in preparation for shows in Europe, America and all points in between. And from such a worldly standpoint, what does Eagleson make of the sudden interest in African music being co-opted by American rock bands?

“You know, we got interviewed by The New York Times and they asked what we thought of Vampire Weekend and I had never even heard of them. When I did, there was a little nod to an African sound but not really,” Eagleson diplomatically answered. “We were doing this long before I started hearing about those bands, so I certainly don’t see Extra Golden as part of some trend.

“I haven’t really been listening to much music lately because I’ve been trying to write my dissertation,” he continued. “I mean, I’ve been listening to lots of Kenyan music….for better or worse.”

And speaking of Kenyan music, another characteristic of Benga worth noting is the concept of the praise song. When someone helps out a Bengan musician in some way, often times they will write a song of praise for that person as well as for their surrounding family. Extra Golden’s own praise song appears on Hera Ma Nono and honors Barack Obama, who was instrumental in securing American visas for their first stateside tour.

When asked if he thought Obama was aware of Extra Golden’s praise song for him, Eagleson deadpanned, “I’m sure he is, but I’m sure he has other things on his mind,” before then taking another moment to think it over and adding, “I mean, that would be cool. We’re available for rallies.”

You heard it here first Barack.

Listen: “Obama”

See Also:
- Extra Golden @ Dingwalls (London) - 10 July 2008
- Upcoming KEXP Live Performances

See Extra Golden Live:
20 Aug - New York, NY @ Lincoln Center Out of Doors

*above photo by Noel Kupersmith

Visit Extra Golden on MySpace.
–
See the list of bands recently featured as EAR FARM’s Band of the Week HERE.