Gaspo FC and Harambee Starlets twins Vivian Akinyi and Sharon Aluoch are better known for their football prowess, but they also have another talent, singing.
Vivian, a goalkeeper and Sharon, a defender, are part time gospel artists, who sing with angelic voices and have so far a studio single to their names.
Born in a staunch SDA family, the two had to choose which talent to pursue, and despite football taking precedence, they didn’t totally drop their love for music.
“We were both good in playing football and singing; we used to sing while in primary school at Valley View Academy, Nairobi and at our local church, Mathare Central SDA Church. But it reached a point our teacher told us to choose one, and we picked football,” said Vivian.
“It was not a hard decision to make because our elder brother, who introduced us to the game at a very young age, always encouraged us to play football,” she added.
After finishing high school at Maina Wanjigi Secondary School and with more time in their hands after training, the twins found themselves writing and recorded songs using their phones.
“It was a good way of keeping ourselves occupied after training, and we enjoyed every bit of it.”
An idea of recording a studio single or even an album struck one day, and that’s how they headed to a local studio and released their first song, Asante (Thank you).
Despite a number of challenges, mostly funding, Vivian and Sharon have continued to nurture their singing and hope to pursue it full time when they hang their boots.
“If you don’t market your song well then it will not get a lot of airtime on radio or television. This is another challenge facing upcoming artists,” she added.
The twins have been busy in studio during the COVID-19 pandemic and are scheduled to release two new songs in the coming weeks.
“Asante was well received, but we are now working on a new project and soon we will drop two new songs,” said Vivian.
Vivian looks up to Mercy Masika and Tanzania’s Christina Shusho for inspiration in the world of gospel music.
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