We proudly present our Washin' Makes Sound member from Kenia Hottensiah!!
Beautiful,sassy and musically talented Hottensiah is a young
energized&optimistic singer from Kenya,East Africa.At only 4 years
old,Hottensiah amused her local church community time and again by
interuppting her grandfather at the pulpit,running over &starting a
song or even as the curch would end a hymn,young Hottensiah was the only
voice left singing the song endlessly
Her love for music&dance too was evident in her primary
schooling as she took part in every singing&dancing event from
Indian dances to traditional African dances.She was part of the school
choir &formed her first singing group when she was 13 years.Her
primary school headmistress had to write the attributes of each final
student as they finished primary school &described Hottensiah as 'An
active member of the drama club and a great singer capable of
training a choir'.It is inspiring words& recognition's such as this
that inspired Hottensiah,at a tender age, to recognize her talent
&give it a go and so she did,forming another singing group in high
school &at home.Straight from high school,she decided to take her
music to the next level,to the world.
Born and raised in the heart of Limuru,a town near Kenya's capital
city Nairobi,she attributes her love& passion for music to being
surrounded by nature as she would take walks in her neighborhood to soak
in the beautiful scenery of valleys of tea plantations and tiny
streams& ponds tacked away in the farms.She viewed this environment
as a blessing,one of nature's best gift to her spirit &it is from
this source that she continuously got inspiration to find her
rhythms,create her tunes, write her songs&all the while dream of how
she would find the chance to penetrate the music industry in the big
city,Nairobi,where access to great producers & performances was the
guarantee to jump start her music career.
Through ambition,passion,discipline,hard work and focus,Hottensiah
endured a number of hurdles and obstacles faced by many female musicians
&women too.She had to find her way and healing through unfortunate
incidents as a child and as an adult but found that healing through her
happy childhood memories,especially with her dear family,her love for
music and her spirituality and does not feel she’s had to bear more than
her share of scars.Finding peace & happiness&a never ending
smile and wanting to be an inspiration to young girls,she has remained
strong willed &tenacious enough to bring her music into the world
and step by step she is realizing her dreams,grateful for every part of
the journey as she gets unconditional support from her
family,friends& growing number of fans from all over the world.
She is one of Kenya’s fastest rising female singer who has a way with
the crowd every time she gets on stage with her mellow strong
voice,confidence &stage performance.Her image&strong persona
clearly defines an African woman with an international touch. Her style
of music can be categorized as contemporary Urban Afro as she is clearly
introducing a new sound in Kenya .Her music is influenced by
urban,zouk&african sounds.The lyrical content&songwriting skills
found in her songs are quite memorable too& she is set to take on
the African& International music industry as she sings about
love,peace,justice & equality in the world.
Currently residing in Vienna,Austria,Hottensiah is recording more
music &has been actively performing with her band, combining the
sounds of the African percussion drums,shakers,acoustic and bass guitar,
keyboard &main drums.Taking on her own name as her stage name
'Hottensiah' which means 'beautiful flower' &also the name of a
flower&naming her band 'Mashariki' which is a Swahili word that
means 'East' ,she introduces a taste of the music that stems from the
beautiful part of the East of Africa ,just like a flower introduces the
beauty of nature into this fast paced world.
When on stage,Hottensiah will get you to dance to some African
moves, then have you listen to pleas of a peaceful and equal world for
all,skilfully bring out the strength and ambition of a woman and even
touch on the journey of hope and love that we all go through.
Hottensiah got a Kisima Nomination for her single 'Songa Mbali' in
2008 for Boomba Female and later scooped the award despite the
controversies surrounding the award ceremony.
She is currently compiling her debut album “Uko Tayari…U
ready?”which features artistes like Stella STL'Mwangi(Eurovision 2011
Finalist),The Mith(Klear Kut ,Uganda),Gaza(Weusi Familia) &Mr.Lenny.
She has also worked on musicals&music projects with famed
artistes in the Kenyan music industry like her gospel singer sister
Leeze Muchai,Eric Wainaina,Jaguah, Syd &Rufftone.
Within her short time of less than a year in Vienna,combined with her
usual drive&passion she brought with her from her country,
Hottensiah was soon invited to be part of the all female Femous
Orchestra,a group of female musicians from all over the world in which
the members bring in their cultural sound in voice or instrument.She has
also managed to collaborate,start projects and work alongside famed
artistes & musicians like Cornelia Pernserdorfer,Celia
Mara,Blessings Nqo(Insingizi),Pascal Lopongo,Roland
Guggenbichler,GhettoMan,CoalMan,Prince Zeka,Alee Thelfa,Barbara
Alli,Esrap,Elvis Zuma ,Cloud Tissa&Sam Brisbe.This projects have
given her the opportunity to be on acclaimed stages like Wir Sind Wien,
the Kasumama Festival,the Africult Festival& many more.
Hottensiah has worked &continues to work independently with
Homeboyz Studios,Ulopa Ngoma,UnderDawg Production,Still Alive Studios
&Dicebox Studios.She has been signed on by VAT,a Homeboyz
initiave,as her main booking agent .
For her love of communication,Hottensiah also doubles up as a
journalist and radio hostess for Radio Afrika Tv located in Vienna.
See More information about Hottensiah's exciting career and keep up
to date with her upcoming performances and tours in the band profile
section.
Keep it Hot!!!
www.femous.at/Hottensiah
www.reverbnation.com/hottymusiq
