Hailing from the beautiful pearl of Africa and the pride of the East coast Uganda, Atyang Laura, also known as the ‘sage’ of Afro fusion, is a multi faceted artist who is a prominent name in the East African music scene. Atyang carefully curated her musical craft over the years and utilised influences from her role in church choirs and various different bands which shaped her musical palette and allowed her to master various fusion genres of Afro, Reggae, Soul and Dancehall music.
What or who inspired you to begin a career in music?
Lucky Dube, Bob Marley and Toni Braxton – when it comes to Lucky Dube and Bob Marley, I was fascinated and inspired by how a person can perform live music with such energy and passion yet changing the status quo by advocating for positive change at the same time, case in point, Apartheid for Lucky Dube – Bob Marley Imperialism and spirituality. This inspired me so much because I realised every gift can only last and make meaning if it has an assignment it is fulfilling. For Toni Braxton, it was the sultry alto voice, so deep yet she could still switch to high octaves and still look sexy and charming while singing. She always drew me in.
What differs you and your sound from other artists in the music industry?
My music and sound is modern Afro fusion that blends traditional African beats with modern sound.
Your latest single, ‘BONDO’ is out now. Can you please describe the creative process and inspiration behind the release?
It started from a conversation with a friend of called Yese. We were talking about being drunk or high , it’s funny but he was telling me to learn how to sing like a drunk person. He said it in luganda “nga akubiddwa “hahaha, he thought I was too melo. He brought a pen and book, started writing the Bondo which is Bond 7 meaning drunk in love “onkuba nga bondo”
In your own opinion, what is the most meaningful song you wrote? What makes you say that one?
Well I have written many, but, the one that stands out for me is ‘Control’ It’s a song I wrote from a close friend’s situation that made me very uncomfortable. Her husband kept cheating on her using her car to take these girls to hotel rooms while she had to take a boda boda to work. When she confronted him after 2 years, he told her that he married her because she loved his children and looked like she could take care of them so well, but not because he loved or cared about her.
She succumbed to depression and a year later asked for divorce which he refused to give her but they separated. However what puzzled me was the fact that he started noticing her after they separated and kept sending her messages of how he liked or disliked what she was wearing. If he saw her somewhere or a photo of her, he would keep trying to tell her what to do with her life and how much he loved her. It was dumbfounding. So I wrote a song that topped reggae charts in eastern Uganda for months, I realised so many people resonated with the song.
Throughout your musical career, have you experienced any ‘wow’ moments?
Yes, very many wow moments. But just me mention a few; there was an almost all white audience I was taken to sing for, in the beginning they all pretended as if I wasn’t there while I sang a few songs. They were watching TV, talking to one another then all of a sudden they started turning towards the stage one by one, they were so glued and happy that they started dancing and handing me money. The number of times they asked for one more, I had to sneak out.
The other one was at a wedding where it rained and we were in the gardens, thank God we were under tents but the water still flowed threw the grass. The bride and groom decide to go change and took a very long time to come back, the MC decides to call the band to sing. I was the only vocalist, I sang and got tired, shoes were wet on the inside so I decided to remove them and stand in the wet grass and later decided to walk and sing in the drizzling rain. The guests were so captivated that they joined me dancing in the rain. It was do beautiful.
What personal advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue this career?
Being talented is not enough , they have to realise that music is a business, they are the business which means putting in the time and effort to learn how this business works and their rights as artist is a prerequisite if they are to be happy in the journey.
What does the foreseeable future hold for you as an artist?
Gracing international stages and arenas with my gift while doing philanthropy in the process as a way of giving back to my fans for their love and dedicated support.
Anything else you would like to add?
We are all born to leave a formidable mark in this world but we can only achieve that by discovering who we truly are and serving that to the world.
‘Bondo’ is available now via all major platforms.
Connect with Atyang Laura
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