Effigong

Effigong's musical journey started in Africa, continued to the UK, and is now currently unfolding in Denmark. The sound has not been developed in a test-tube but comes from real cultures and real experiences.

Effigong made a name for himself on the East African music scene while hanging out at the acclaimed studio, Bongo Records in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. His feature with voice and guitar on "Mambo ya pwani" (issues of the coast) was a number one hit on the East African charts and his appearances on the music channel, East African Television received a lot of media attention. While supporting acts in the studio like Juma Nature (MTV nominee 06), Jay Mo, TID and Ferooz, Effigong aka Mzungu Kichaa or Aspen Kingsaiz decided to team up with the acclaimed Tanzanian producer P Funk to produce his own album. This resulted in 10 Swahili tracks, fusing hip-hop, rumba, and traditional Tanzanian styles such as chakacha.

You might ask yourself how Effigong ended up in Tanzania performing alongside some of the biggest east African names? Some of the answers are found in his own story: "I moved to Africa when I was six and remember being very excited about it. My parents have always encouraged me to see change as a positive thing. I had a very free and at times pretty dangerous childhood. I remember one day, my dad saw one of my friends and asked him why he wasn’t with me? He told my dad that his parents hadn’t allowed him to go fishing with the rest of us because there where a lot of crocodiles where we had gone. Strangely enough my parents weren’t that bothered. In fact I was always allowed to do what my friends did, so I spent a lot of time hunting birds, collecting honey at night or playing drums at wedding ceremonies far into the bush.

With all these experiences, coming back to Denmark wasn’t easy. Eating with a knife and fork and wearing shoes isn’t something you just learn from day to day. I didn’t want to leave Africa, I had completely forgotten that I was a white kid; in fact subconsciously, I thought that I was black. I remember being very upset when my mother pointed out that the drawing of myself playing football with my friends didn’t look like me because I had drawn a black kid".

With his forthcoming album, Effigong has finally found his own sound, which he has developed through his extraordinary musical journey, together with the talented musicians that make up the current group. "I play popular music, music for the people, so whenever I’ve moved, I’ve adapted my music. Not because I want to please anyone, but simply because I believe it’s important to reach people with my music".

The honest and powerful messages in his songs have touched many people. In songs like "Slaving", Effigong comments on our shared experience of being trapped in modern consumer lifestyles. "These days I think that being enslaved is as much a state of mind as anything else. It’s not just something you find in the third world, it’s also right here in the west". On the other hand Effigong has a lot of positive messages, as you can hear in the upbeat message of "Me Feel Good". 

Band members

• Espen Sørensen
• JK. Hellum
• Frederik Hellum
• Miloud Sabri
• Max Holmgård
• Niels Johannsen

Website

http://effigong.com/

Contact

effigong@yahoo.com