Catalogue                 Group                                                 A side/B side                                                                  Year

Number

SMB 7-4               Kawere Boys Band                    Super Nyar Mariwa/Roda Atieno                        1975

POT 7-7               Migori Super Stars                     Jenifa Atieno/Domnicus Masero

POT 7-10              Gem Lucky Band                       Martin Osare/Maggy Rabuor

SURE 2                 Kiwiro Boys Band                      Kiwiro Nitie/Nick Owino

Simbi Nyaima in Dholuo means “the village that sank” and is the name of a volcanic crater lake near Lake Victoria in Western Province. According to Luo legend, a village stood on the site but disappeared in a violent storm after villagers refused food and shelter to an elderly woman.

The label of SMB 7-4 from the Voice of America collection doesn’t give anything away about who was behind it. But I can say that Kawere Boys Band recorded prolifically, cutting sides for  Hundhwe, Kawere Biro Special, Makossa, POK and Saye Ber Mo as well as Simbi-Nyaima.

POT 7-10 surfaced on Ebay in December 2010 and POT 7-7 in March 2011. The former has a dark blue and red label, while Sofiane of Groovy Record in Paris supplied details of SURE 2 in March 2011.  All three feature Luo bands. The very different catalogue numbers make me wonder whether the label may have also been pressed in South Africa for distribution there and in other states such as Zambia and Zimbabwe.