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Oryema came from a highly musical family: his father, a government minister, played the nanga, while his mother was the director of the Ugandan national dance troupe, the Heart Beat of Africa. His grandfathers and uncles were also musicians and storytellers. Oryema learned to play the nanga, guitar, thumb piano, and flute as a teenager, but his progression was interrupted when his father was abducted and murdered by Idi Amin's government, and, perceiving the danger that the remaining family was in, Geoffrey was smuggled into Kenya in a car. He soon moved to Paris, drawing on traditional folklore and the theme of exile for his subject matter, and found a large East African (and a small Western) following. Oryema recorded his debut album with Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno and contributed a track to the Leonard Cohen tribute album, I'm Your Fan. — Steve Huey
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
