H_Art the Band and Other East African Artistes Break World Record

East African Artistes including Kenya's H_Art the Band will set a new Guinness World Record for the longest song to officially be released at 4 hours 04 minutes 02 seconds.

The song titled 'One People' involved a total of 242 aspiring musicians, upcoming artists and established acts like H_Art the Band, Winyo, Nina Ogot, Phy Ng’etich and Chris Adwar from Kenya. Munyakazi Deo and Angel Mutoni from Rwanda, Macase Band from Cameroon, Jeff Mduma and Lambson from Tanzania. 

The project was initiated at the Ongea Music Summit held in Nairobi last February and was organised by Mdundo.com, the Summit organizers, PHAT! Intellectual Property and Artville studios.

"We created a guide track and put it out on Mdundo.com, then we made the call-out at the summit. For four days we worked with the artists to create the audio equivalent of Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’. Any musician was invited to participate," explained Joe Masterkeyz, Artville’s Creative Producer.

Pipe Choir III from the United States previously held the record with their song 'In The Garden' lasting for 3 hours 01 minutes 50 seconds. 

CEO and Co-founder of Mdundo Martin Nielsen told Kenyans.co.ke that they are in the process of seeking certification from the Guinness Records Management Team and the song will be officially realeased in April next year.

He added that the song was, however, available on their site and encouraged Kenyans to listen to the message that is relevant for this election year.

"The song has a message about peace and unity and it is especially relevant for this election year," he urged.

Penya Africa, who manage H_Art the Band, were surprised to  hear of the international accolade when Kenyans.co.ke contacted them for a comment on the achievement.

Nonetheless, they were thrilled with the prospect set to cast them on international limelight.