AFRO SIMBA's music exploration is mainly influenced by 9 coastal tribes off the coast of Kenya, collectively known as Mijikenda.
KOMBO CHOKWE BURNS, a Kenyan born Instrumentalist and Singer Songwriter, was born with a musical family in a coastal town called Malindi in Kenya. He later moved to Nairobi and started his musical career in 2005 as a multi-talented instrumentalist and vocalist who has recorded & performed with International and most of Kenya’s prominent Acts & Artists. To name a few, Rocky Dawuni, Alsarah, Sauti Sol, Jahm, Eric Wainaina, Electrafrique, Asili Dub, Suzzane Owiyo, Abbi, Hellon, Winyo, Makadem, Sal Davis and Maia von Lekow are some of the Artists that he has worked and toured-with. These collaborations made Kombo play an important role in defining our present day rooted Kenyan sound. ______ AFRO SIMBA was born from encounters between KOMBO and a group of coastal instrumentalists, Rabai Keyboardist – Walter Mwang’ombe, and Luiya Drummer Morris Kivisi, with the idea of exploring Modern Mijikenda Music, Mijikenda chants and Swahili melodies, Bantu rhythms, and their love for the pentatonic scale, which later lead to meeting a Kauma Percussionist – Bruno Mbaruku and a Duruma Bassist – Eddy Denah. Under the leadership of Kombo, the Nairobi based band developed a sound they call Mijikenda Fusion. The band's debut album “Pandizo”, released in 2016, redefined & reintroduced Mijikenda music to preseAFRO SIMBA is a six-year-old Mijikenda Fusion Kenyan band that has toured Uganda (DOADOA Fest, Milege International World Music Festival), Somalia (Mogadishu Peace Festival), Dubai (Africa Pavillion Global Village Multi-Cultural Fest),Washington DC (Smithsonian Folklife Festival) and Tanzania(Ongala Music Festival 2019 august 23rd) to support and promote a vibrant East African Sound that they are part-of. The band launched the music video for their latest single “Kazi” and their debut album “Pandizo” online in February 2016, and officially launched the album at Alliance Francaise Nairobi in Nov 2016.nt-time Kenya and the rest of the world. AFRO SIMBA is currently in the studio working on their upcoming Swahili Ska EP.
