“I write from the perspective of my Faith and that allows me to use my life experiences in my music,” says Noel Nderitu, a multi-award-winning singer and instrumentalist. Noel fuses R&B, soul, afro-pop and gospel sounds into his music, wielding an acoustic guitar and great vocals. “I didn’t deliberately choose a genre, I write what comes naturally to me and I guess those genres best represent my art.”
Noel released his first album (8-track), ‘My Kind of Music,’ in 2013. He then released a 10-track album, ‘The Bridge,’ in 2017. On the week of its release, it debuted at number 1 on the iTunes Kenya chart. In the same year, he won Best R&B Act at the Cafe Ngoma Awards.
“I am sort of a late bloomer, picking up instruments and discovering my singing voice after high school. I grew up quickly by being around like-minded and talented musicians and it soon led to recording after a couple of years. I wouldn’t be here if it was not for pioneers like Kanji, Webi, Aaron Rimbui and even those before me like Pete Odera.”
Noel has also collaborated with other musicians such as Rigga on ‘Undugu’ a 5-track EP that was released in 2018. He has also been having live acoustic shows, ‘Men of Soul’ in collaboration with premier Nairobi talent. Recently, on 12th April, he released a song, ‘Mimi ni Nani’ in collaboration with his wife, Stella Kareo, who is also a musician. “Working with Stella on ‘Mimi ni Nani’ was inevitable. We have worked together on so many projects. I wrote and produced the song ‘Ibada’ on her EP ‘Kimbilio’ and she in turn has shot and directed some of my music videos. It was easier working on this song because we had created the space to enhance each other’s work prior to this.”
Besides collaborating with fellow musicians, Noel has also released several singles including ‘The Love Sessions.’ He also won a 2020 Pulse Music Video Award for Best Live Band off of one of his livestream showcases. He was also nominated for the All Africa Music Award (Afrima) in 2021 for his song, ‘Enough’ in collaboration with UK singer Called Out Music. Noel has performed in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.
Loving God, people and making disciples is what drives Noel. To those aspiring to be musicians, he says that passion is key. “You might be good at music but that doesn’t mean you should pursue it full time especially if it’s not what you live for.” About the music industry, he says that we still have a long way to go. “I consider what we have to be a ‘scene’ and not really an industry as we lack structures that work well for the benefit of the artist.”
Noel’s latest album ‘City on A Hill’ is available for streaming.
Follow @noelnderitu on Instagram
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