Geoffrey Oryema (16 April 1953 – 22 June 2018) was a
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
n musician. In 1977 after the murder of his father,
Erinayo Wilson Oryema
Erinayo Wilson Oryema CPM (1 January 1917 – 16 February 1977) was a Ugandan police officer and politician. He was Uganda's first African Inspector General of Police (1964–1971), and later served as Minister of Land, Mineral, and Water Res ...
, who was a cabinet minister in the government of
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
, he began his life in exile. At the age of 24, and at the height of Amin's power, Oryema was smuggled out of the country in the trunk of a car.
He sang in the languages of his youth,
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes.
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa.
* Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
and
Acholi
Acholi may refer to:
* Acholi people, a Luo nation of Uganda, in the Northern part of the country.
* Acholi language, a Nilotic language
* Acholi Inn, a building in Gulu, Uganda
* Acholi nationalism, a political ideology of Acholi people
{{dab ...
, the languages of his lost country, the "clear green land" of Uganda, and he also sang in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
.
Oryema earned his international reputation on the release of his second album, ''Beat the Border''. He had collaborated with
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
and others, and was backed by French musicians including Jean-Pierre Alarcen (guitar) and Patrick Buchmann (drums, percussion, backing vocals), touring with
WOMAD
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.
History
WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...
in Australia, the USA, Japan, Brazil and Europe. In 1994 the band performed at Woodstock 94 celebrating the 25th anniversary of the legendary festival.
Gabriel's record label,
Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
* Reality
* World
* Existence Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The ...
, helped with the first three of Oryema's albums, before his move to
Sony International
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
, a label established in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where Oryema had lived since his exile.
In July 2005, he performed at the LIVE 8: Africa Calling concert in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, and with
1 Giant Leap
1 Giant Leap is a British electronic music duo consisting of the two principal artists, Jamie Catto (Faithless founding member) and Duncan Bridgeman.
Career
Based in the UK, the two musicians set out to create a multimedia project that would ...
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, until his death from cancer. His ashes were delivered to Anaka.
Discography
* ''
Exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
'' (1990)
* ''
Beat the Border
''Beat the Border'' is the second album by the Ugandan musician Geoffrey Oryema, released in 1993. Oryema supported the album by playing the 1993 WOMAD Festival.
Production
The album was produced by David Bottrill and Bob Ezrin. Oryema sang in Ach ...
Melanie Gabriel
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Official Website