The golden voice from Kenya

The road to success wasn’t a smooth ride. It’s the single-minded pursuit of his passion that got Kenyan singer Frank Koine, who was in the City recently, thus far. This is precisely why most of what he sings, writes and tunes stem from his own experiences and the life around him in a small town in Kenya.

Born and raised in Kenya, Frank didn’t quite have a memorable childhood. He left home when he was barely 20 years old.

He has been on his own since then. Frank has dipped his fingers in every conceivable genre such as rap, rock ‘n roll, gospel and Afro-Asian music.

“The song reflects the life and struggles of the people in Kenya. There’s a great political divide and the power struggle among the various tribes continues to deepen. Fifty percent of people in Kenya live below the poverty line and battle hard to make both ends meet. All this reflects in the lyrics that I write and the songs I sing,” explains Frank. He had always wanted to be a singer and dreamt of making it to the world stage someday. “It’s a dream come true,” he smiles.   

Apart from being a full-time musician, Frank also devotes a lot of time to wildlife conservation and educating people about environment-related issues. In fact, Frank and his wife met while the two were on one such mission.

  “My wife is a conservation scientist and I have my own work that I do in the field. We also try and employ as many people in it so that there’s enough work for those who are unemployed,” he states.

Frank was floored by everything that is Indian during his visit here. “I like the way Indians greet each other with a ‘namaste.’ I must say that it is a very respectful way of acknowledging someone,” he notes. Frank was surprised and shocked with the never-ending stream of traffic.

  “I’ve never seen so much traffic in any other part of the country. I understand that people here are stuck in traffic jams for hours together. I got a taste of Bangalore’s much-talked about traffic jams,” he beams.

Frank confesses that he would like to collaborate with Indian musicians someday. “Back home, there’s an Indian music channel called ‘Boom’ which I watch for close to an hour every morning. I love the colour in all the Indian music videos,” he signs off.