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The K-Boyz band was formed in early 2010 by Solomon Haile, Aman Tefera and Young K. Solomon had been writing lyrics when he was still living in Eritrea and was looking for a way to bring his songs to a larger audience. The band initially just played other bands' songs, but by the end of 2010 they were performing Solomon's original songs. At that stage, the original band added several more members who were also song writers, bought instruments and focused on original live music performances.

The K-Boyz -- short for Kunama Boys, reflecting their cultural heritage -- are the first and only Kunama band in the Sioux Falls area. The band wants to expose a larger audience to the sounds of the traditional Kunama music. Theirlong-term goal is to preserve these sounds through the use of digital media for generations to come.

Sioux Falls is home to about 300 members of the Kunama tribe who have come to the US as refugees. The K-Boyz were instrumental in starting the Kunama Cultural Days celebration, an annual event scheduled around the long 4th of July weekend. The first Kunama Days in July 2010 coincided with the release of the K-Boyz' first CD. The event has also been held in Des Moines, IA, and Atlanta, GA, but will be back in Sioux Falls in 2014.

Kunama Days is a three-day festivity addressing the preservation of Kunama culture, language and music. The event also includes educational components in the form of a soccer tournament and workshops on current topics such as school, substance abuse, legal and women's issues and a fashion show.



Cultural Music Instruments



Kankala (or Calabasha)

The Kankala is a musical instrument used by the Kunama tribe of Eritrea. The Calabash is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd. The hollowed fruit is topped with a taut animal hide sound table; a fretless full-spike neck that extended the full length of the body to pass over or through its tail-end; and, a floating/moveable bridge that sat on the sound table to raise the strings.Abangala (kirar)

The abangala is an Eritrean musical instrument used in any kind of traditional Kunama and Tigrinyan music. It has a square, wooden body with strings attached to a permanent bridge.



Gila

The Gila is a simple instrument made from the long horn of a steer. Its player blows into the horn to produce a sound. It is primarily used to announce the death of an old person from the community.

Today, K-Boyz is trying to incorporate these traditional instruments into their live performances, side by side with 21st century technology.



Kubula:

Kunama drums hold a special place in the history of Eritrea. In Kunama Culture the idea of drumming is nearly always associated with entertainment or just to add to the musical quality of a song. In Kunama culture, drums hold a deeper symbolic and historical meaning.

Drums are almost always an accompaniment for any manner of ceremony -- births, deaths, marriages -- together with a ritual dance.



Names of band members:

Solomon Haile - DJ, song writer and technical director

Nimeri Asila - singer, song writer

Zekariyas Balcha - singer, keyboards, technical helper

Aman Tefera - choreographer, photographer

Anni Kotudi -- financial manager

Babu Bekele - singer, song writer

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