Scratch to Reveal was released by Kenyan house

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

/funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 trio Just A Band

Just A Band

Just a Band is a Kenyan house/funk/disco band whose career was launched with their debut album, Scratch To Reveal, in 2008. Their music has explored various musical directions such as, but not limited to jazz, hip-hop, disco and electronica....

 in 2008.

Combining features of disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

, funk and electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

, this was the first studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by the Kenyan trio. The album includes "Oh Ndio", a remix of a song by defunct Kenyan pop group Five Alive.

Album information

Scratch to Reveal was initially slated for a May 10, 2007 release. This release date was pushed to May 17.

The album starts off with the disco/house vibes of "Fly" and "Oh Ndio", explores softer acoustic tones towards the middle and returns to the disco feel with "Lights*Music*Stars". "Iwinyo Piny" appears as a bonus track, and a hidden track appears at the end of the album.

Reception

Scratch to Reveal received generally positive reviews, garnering a five-star rating from WAPI Times, who described it as "full of dancy house gems laced with a little bit of industrial techno and drum and bass." Drum Magazine called it "a break from tradition, the trio have done a record completely devoid of the usual pseudo-reggae influences...truly avant-garde." Adam Magazine called it "a pleasant departure from usual Kenyan music."
Just A Band's Single "Hey", off the album Scratch To Reveal was released on the 22nd of October, 2008. It was first played on Citizen TV's Power Breakfast. Hey is a powerful song with a powerful track and out of the ordinary actors to back it. The story of an ordinary guy, missing his girlfriend is portrayed by two puppets 'Boflo' and 'Katunge'. Boflo is professing his undying love for Katunge and calls all other girls 'Kadhalika' which roughly translated means etc...

Track listing

1. "Fly" – 3:52
2. "Oh Ndio" – 3:28
3. "Maro Pa More" – 3:24
4. "FunkyFineBeautiful" – 3:24
5. "Do You Mind" – 2:39
6. "Hey!" – 3:49
7. "Bye Bye" – 3:54
8. "If I Could" – 3:05
9. "Twende Kazi" – 3:47
10. "Have You Seen Her?" – 3:20
11. "Lights*Music*Stars" - 3:51
12. "Iwinyo Piny" (bonus track) - 3:34
13. "Beba Na Finje" (hidden track
    Hidden track
    In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
    
    ) - 1:29

Personnel

Just a Band	Vocals, Instrumentation Instrumentation (music) In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
Liz Ogumbo	Vocals
Diana Nduba	Vocals
Sarah Mitaru	Vocals
Liam	Vocals
Manjeru Maina	Vocals

Production

Executive producers	Just a Band
Mixing	Just a Band, Eric Musyoka
Instrumentation	Just a Band, Andrew Ngatia Wanjohi, David Gitoho, Eddie Grey, Livi Kantingima
Photography/Package Design	Jim Chuchu

External links

• just-a-band.com (Official website)