Sol Filosofia : A review

Solfilosofia album cover

The danger of new musicians making a strong début album is how to follow it up. In Music Industry lingo it’s called the sophomore slump. This is where an artiste doesn’t deliver a successful follow up to a debut album. Sauti Sol has avoided the pitfall with their recently released 2^nd Album Sol Filosofia.

Sauti Sol gained recognition when they won the spotlight on Kenyan Music Talent Search at the Alliance Francaise. They released their début album Mwanzo under the Penya Record label. The group did well for themselves with a host of local and international tours.

The group soon after pioneered a breakaway style; Afro-Neosoul. A style that has seen a lot of emulation. This is shown for the number of people who sing their songs when auditioning for reality tv music shows held last year. Afro-Neosoul is not the same as Afro Fusion.

Sol Filosofia sounds like a break from the style they helped pioneer, Afro-Neosoul. The album has an ecclecteic style. You can hear influence by twist (Soma Kijana) rock (Sofia and Coming Home). A laid back reggae influence can be heard on Private Spice. The only songs that strictly conform to their original sound are Malikia and Sofia.

In Kenya, Luhya is a language that most people make fun of. This is because of the various guttural sounds in its pronunciation. Sauti Sol however make the language sound sexy in songs like Nambee and Awinja.

The album tackles various themes of social relevance. They look at Family (Row your boat, Awinja) Love (L.A.D.Y and Malikia) Heartbreak (Sofia) and Leadership (Sol Generation).

Despite the slight deviation from their début style, the band has done well to avoid the sophomore slump. The old fans will love it and new fans will be won over by the Soulful Quartet.