Sauti Sol’s Polycarp Otieno alias Fancy Fingers is living his proverbial best life.
With a successful debut solo album Father Studies, a new children’s book, a new family, a blossoming solo career and lots of other dreamy events going on for him, the laidback (and utterly down-to-earth) 33-year-old could not be happier. The Sauce caught up with him for a chitchat and he laid it all bare.
Solo Projects
The singer’s Father Studies album has been the talk about town since it debuted. He had the naysayers silenced when he flexed his vocal ability throughout the album, as the general assumption about the multi-instrumentalist has always been that he cannot sing. “I loved that I shocked everybody. In all honesty, I do not consider myself a singer. The album was a dedication to my son and not really about me. I am obviously a musical being, but I really do not think of myself as this singing sensation,” he unabashedly admits.
Any pressure for whose solo project blows up the most? The Amanda Pressure crooner says that could never be. “If Chimano’s project is the biggest hit, that is success for all of us. That goes for every other member of the group. We are not in competition. As a matter of fact, we have all consulted each other for these solo projects,” he adds.
Album Inspiration, Family
A new dotting dad and family man, Polycarp’s album entails a fatherhood and family aesthetic, a very different direction in comparison to the other members’ new music. “It is very spiritual for me. I did it on purpose. I wanted to narrate my experience through my art. It all came from a very deep place and purpose,” he says of the album, which depicts him, his son and wife Amanda in the artwork and a music video. He is also the first Sauti Sol member to become a dad. Does any of the members seek advice from him? “You have to be a dad first to understand fatherhood. Of course they see me in my element, balancing work and family, splitting my time to cater for each and I know that inspires them, but you have to be a father first to understand it, no one can teach you fatherhhod,” he quips.
Production, Being A Multi-Instrumentalist
It is commonly known that Polycarp is the producer behind a lot of Sauti Sol music. Despite having studied Actuarial Science at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, he immersed himself in the majestic world of music projection at the onset of Sauti Sol’s careers. “I pretty much learnt on the job. From a young age, I was cognizant of the fact that I had an ear for music, so I dived right in it. I primarily play the guitar, but I also play the piano. Unbeknownst to many, Polycarp has produced for a slew of other Kenyan stars like Khaligraph Jones, Dela, Suzanna Owiyo, Nyashinski and many others. “It is already a lot of work producing for the group and myself. It is definitely a stretch doing production for other acts,” says the bubbly musician.
Future Projects, Sauti Sol
Of what the future looks like for the group, Polycarp has this to say: “We have been working on our solo music and music for the group simultaneously. Our next album is ready and is slated for mid next year. As a matter of fact, we have new music that makes up to two albums. I, on the other hand, have been working towards animation for my children’s books, with the first one being Written in the Stars. I have a book series titled Papa and I, and two upcoming books that will be adapted into animation,” he reveals, saying his penchant for children learning African stories from the eyes of an African-not a foreigner-has been his driving force.