Nairobi’s punk trio have announced Oct 1 as the preview launch date for their upcoming album “Cheshire Grin”. An official release will be announced at a later date.
The group were initially just a bunch of kids that skateboarded together. It wasn’t until 2015 that they decided to form the band originally consisting of Sam Maguta as bassist, Timothy ‘Qreed’ Wafula as drummer, and Willy Ojiro as guitarist and vocalist. Sam opted to leave the band at the start of 2018 and the band opted to add another skateboarder George Zuko as their new bassist. George Zuko (Bass)
From jam sessions in Tigoni’s Real of Mist, Powerslide cultivated their own sound that can be called punk rock characterized as loud, with distorted guitairs and fast paced drums.That sonic experimentation then culminated in songs like “Serpents in Your Heart” and “Turn that Shit Up.”
Together with “The Keed” and “Monsters and Men“, Powerslide have now released four singles in anticipation of the album’s release. Those are now available on their bandcamp.
Willy Ojiro (Vocals/Guitar)
In giving the album’s conceptual synopsis Willy Ojiro explains:
“Cheshire Grin is the story of ‘the keed‘ and the experiences he lives through at different points in his young adult life or alternatively, the story of ‘the keed‘ going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. He lives through a wide array of experiences and in the same way the album explores a wide variety of sounds (and themes). The album talks about everything from love, to hate, to rebellion, to individualism, to social injustice, to mental health so each song had its unique creative process.
Different songs came about through completely different processes
Some I wrote on my own, some were written by two of us and some were written by all three.
Some songs we finished writing pretty quickly but for some songs took me years to complete.”
While the trio can generally be characterized as punk rock, their sound is more diverse in certain respects. They routinely explore different sounds and genres so much so that sometimes we sound like an entirely different band. Timothy “Qreed” Wafula (Drums)
“We’re influenced by hardcore and punk rock and draw inspiration from punk bands like Blink-182, Nirvana, NOFX, Black Flag,Minor Threat but we’re also heavily influenced by Metalcore bands like Architects and While She Sleeps.”
Powerslide have played with:
MURFY’S FLAW, IRONY DESTROYED, STRAY FROM THE PATH (US), AYS (GER), CRYSTAL AXIS, RASH AND A HOST OF OTHER BANDS. LINE UP 2018:
Timothy “Qreed” Wafula (Drums)
Willy Ojiro (Vocals/Guitar)
George Zuko (Bass)
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The band is set to play Nanyuki Festival Halloween Show together with label counterparts The Seeds of Datura.
George Zuko (Bass)
George Zuko (Bass)
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Powerslide band photos by Mutua Kyale
