Joseph Kamaru - Heavy Combination
This product is available on Pre-order.
A crucial introduction to the ‘King of Kikuyu Benga’!
17 tracks that run the gamut from vibrant dancefloor chants with high life-esque guitars, to afro funk, drum machine and keyboard driven disco grooves, and folk style laments. The music is raw, immediate, danceable, and packed full of memorable hooks. The incisive lyrics range from protest songs to relationship advice. Joseph Kamaru was an incredibly popular figure in his native Kenya, connecting with everyone from high-powered politicians to the rural and urban working class, and his music deserves a much wider international audience.
Compiled by his grandson, the sound artist KMRU, in partnership with Disciples, the tracks have been carefully remastered from original tape transfers by Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin. Sleeve designed by Karolina Kołodziej using original archive material from the Kamaru family vaults.
Extensive liner notes include essays by Kenyan academic Maina wa Mũtonya, music journalist Megan Iacobini de Fazio, and KMRU himself.
Tracklisting
Scheduled: 31 October 2025
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Pre Order FAQ
When is this released?
Joseph Kamaru - Heavy Combination is available for Pre Order now and has a scheduled release date of 31st October 2025.
In the event of any delays to this date, we will try to keep this page updated in the '⚠ Updates' tab.
When will I get it?
We ship pre order items to arrive with you on or as close as possible to release day. We are limited naturally by when the stock arrives with us in Totnes, but we work hard to ship them in a timely fashion.
⚠ If you make a purchase from Drift that includes both Pre Order titles and in-stock titles, we will ship your entire order as one when all items are released. Read More.
What is the discount?
Every Pre Order product has a discount of between 10% and 15%. This is already factored into the price and will revert to full RRP during the week of release.