email from Andrew Burchell, a music producer in Kenya

[Charlie]

intro from CG:

One of my favourite tracks on World 2003 is by Nyota Ndogo, a Kenyan singer introduced to me on a CD-R sent by producer Andrew Burchelll, who is I think English but based in Mombasa, Kenya. I played it on both BBC London and the World service before including it on the comnpilation. A producer at Radio Kenya heard it on the World Service, and followed through by featuring it locally. I had not heard from Andrew for at least two years until this email came through, with a new song attached as an MP3:

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Long time!

Hope all is well with you in London.

You've probably thought i've forgotten all about you but your world service slot is still a highlight of the week. Truly you helped me and Nyota Ndogo a lot.

It's just like another world here and dayz weeks months years drift by and before you know it people are even passing away. The music industry here is still a bit of a joke. But we struggle on.

Nyota got herself involved in an early marriage and child and pushed a couple of years in the beach hotel circuit. However she had a bit of a club hit towards the end of last year which took off in bongo (tz) which is somewhat more serious in music than kenya. This has given her a little boost and she's just finished a small tour playing her own stuff.

I've even got myself on line at home hence this mail although the f-in connection is so bad i have to get up in the middle oif the night to attach files and even then its touch and go. This podcast, i tunes, blogging, peer to peer world is like..... well i'm getting into it step by step, hence this new track from her - 'Watu na viatu' - litarally 'people and shoes' it's about false friendship - you think someone is close, then it turns out they're jealous. Not sure if you'll like it, it come together one morning last week and she seems to love it. It's currently number one in the Mombasa charts, not yet taken to Nairobi. Any comments would be welcome, good or bad.

Myself I'm on a bit of a June Tabor trip at the moment so if there's a space which I doubt on your show a blast of 'joe peel' or the 'seven wonders' for Zalambe, Mwanaisha and Adio i'll be a happy man.

It's a crazy world that's come up these last few years and still hard to come to terms that my homeland is at war and thousands are dying while the lies are spoken and the world watches it all on tv. Anyway enough of that. John Peel's death was sudden and there a hole.

Thanx again.

I'll be sending you some more tracks so kaa chonjo

All the best

Andrew Burchell