By Dennis Asiimwe
The Swangz Avenue experiment that is Vinka continues with the release of her latest single, One Bite. She has a nose for snazzy titles: Chips and Ketchup, Love Portion, that sort of thing. And yes, it works for her. Her songs, almost by default, are what you might call ‘quirky’. The titles alone will have you doing a double-take, out of curiosity – what the hell is she singing about this time?
Vinka’s a curious creature with an equally curious story – she started her music career after managing Irene Ntale for about 7 years, on behalf of Swangz Avenue. After Swangz Avenue dropped Irene Ntale, Vinka signed up – as a singer. In terms of precedent, it doesn’t happen a lot, this sort of thing. Throw in the fact of her unusual voice, and the music industry’s interest was piqued.
I was more interested in why NO ONE was willing to point out the unusual circumstances of her emergence as an artiste, but then again once in while one needs peace, so I let the matter slide.
Vinka figured out how to make those pipes work, the producers at Swangz figured that her unusual vocals, would pay off. It was a worthwhile gamble – Vinka was what you might call an unmistakable success, which her quirky tunes and unusual voice have actually gotten better. One Bite is an excellent example in this regard. Her lyricism is smarter, and her vocals are much more rounded. The melody for One Bite even fits the definition of catchy – it is easy on the ear and easy to learn. Vinka might change her singling style in future, of course, but what she does now…it works.
