By Dennis Asiimwe
Julia Musik is a musician based in Mbarara who is dipping her foot into the music industry, and seems to be handled by a label called Kitara Music.
Ikaikana isn’t her first outing – she has another single called Gold, so it’s obvious here’s a girl willing and ready to put in the work.
She goes for an interesting sound on Ikaikana. It is something of a Zouk sound, with a world music feel. Makes for a very pleasant listening experience, which is something that caught me off-guard.
All this alongside some pretty high end production values – I guess the production folks in Mbarara have discerning ears after all, and shouldn’t be simply dismissed as country bumpkins without any level of finesse.
Often, musicians who are based upcountry have a sound with something of a narrow scope – after all, their music is targeting a rather specific audience. Julia doesn’t get caught in such a trap, especially with Ikaikana. It has a cosmopolitan feel to it that casually dismisses its modest origins.
More importantly, it is pleasant on the ear, which is something I will keep coming back to – this is music built for universal audiences.
Ikaikana is a clever song, one which will appeal to the indigenous audiences of her home town, and work with the more cosmopolitan audiences across the country, including the metropolis that is Kampala.
Developing pleasant, feel-good music is not a new formula – however, combining it with a formula that makes it technically valid, musically speaking, is the harder part, and Julia has managed that feat with Ikaikana.
The song clocks in at about 3 minutes 34 seconds and still feels too short – you truly want it to go on. And that can only be a good thing.
