Gengepress by Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0), Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph)

Gengepress

Remix

Both curators of the Norient City Sounds: Nairobi Special, Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0) and Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph), are active in the Nairobi underground electronic scene, and both are residents at the weekly Mist night in Westlands where they try to showcase local talent and different sounds from around the world. In this compilation, both worked on music and sounds by fellow Nairobi-based producers, distilling hours of conversation between Thomas Burkhalter and the selected artists from early 2020 into this collection of remixes. The conversations touched topics such as music production and sonic fiction, most of them focusing on gengetone, a hip hop and dancehall influenced mainstream genre, originated in Nairobi.

01 DJ Raph: «Complete Faith»
remixed words by Blinky Bill

Gengepress by DJ Raph

Blinky Bill shares a deep-felt and poignant reminder of hope, in this minimal sketch.

«And when I see Kenyans who are exceptional, they’re really exceptional by any standard, that keeps me motivated that there’s people who’ve not lost complete faith in the system and they’re operating outside the system and trying to make things work.»

– Blinky Bill

Follow Blinky Bill on Instagram, Spotify, or SoundCloud. Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on March 3, 2020.

02 Kamwangi Njue – On Playing Gengetone
remixed words by Coco Em

Gengepress by Kamwangi Njue

Coco Em, who has her first self produced EP out now, analyses gengetone from a DJ perspective and as a listener. She deconstructs its «crass» tendencies as that which mirrors the society and also criticizes the genre’s musicians for sticking to the same topics of sex and parties, when they could explore more diverse topics in their lyrics.

«It’s like they’re not treating the women very well. A lot of the time it’s confused with empowerment, I feel like. I’ve been told several times not to slut shame. If she wants to twerk in a thong on the tree. Let her do her thing.»

«So there’s a lot of confusion as well. But I will be careful what I want to attach myself to or what I want to play or to push and stuff.»

– Coco Em on playing gengetone in a DJ set

Emma Nzioka aka Coco Em, is a Nairobi-based DJ/producer, photographer, and filmmaker. She has a passion for music, activism, and creating communities based around these interests. Through her work in film and music, she has been blessed to connect with audiences from Uganda, South Sudan, South Africa, Morocco, Niger, Tunisia, Rwanda, Tanzania, France, Canada, and Switzerland. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, or SoundCloud.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on March 5, 2020.

03 DJ Raph: «Gengepress»
remixed words by Hitman Kaht

Gengepress by DJ Raph

Hitman Kaht is a top gengetone producer with hits such as «Wabebe» to his credit. This remix messes around with a gengetone break by Kaht, with an excerpt from his conversation with Thomas Burkhalter.

«I don’t think that there’s a need to criticize this music because the music is actually doing more good than harm. I have said before, the youths are unemployed. They don’t have anything to do. Now we want to put some music out and it’s working for us. They’ve created an opportunity for themselves to feed themselves and have a future. That’s the only perspective you should look at if from. If now you don’t want us to do music what else because there are no jobs also. People might end up in drugs and violence; that’s worse. I think it’s just a good thing. We should not really hate it.»

– Hitman Kaht on gengetone criticism

Follow Hitman Kaht on Instagram, Twitter, or Spotify.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on March 3, 2020.

04 DJ Raph: «Fuck Police Everywhere»
remixed words by 7Headc0

Gengepress by DJ Raph

Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0) is a writer, producer, and DJ based in Nairobi. This remix is inspired by a conversation about sonic fiction, his area of artistic practice. It imagines an other world, but one with familiar struggles.

«Kodwo Eshun wrote this book ‹More Brilliant Than the Sun›. He’s talking about what’s beyond what you’re listening to. What goes on when you hear a sound?»

«You know what they say? Fuck police everywhere, not just a song. The way the governments are structured is just messy and with police and police, police, policies.»

– Kamwangi Njue

«Music, conversely, involves manipulation in the generation and arrangement of sounds for the purposes of contrivance, performance, fantasy, fictions – alternative realities.»

– Adam Harper discussing Kodwo Eshun’s ideas in Norient

Follow Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0) on Instagram, Twitter, or Bandcamp.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on March 2, 2020.

05 7Headc0: «My Name Is»
remixed words by Jinku

Gengepress by 7Headc0

Jinku is one of the first names you encounter in the Nairobi alternative music scene. He is one fifth of the collective EA Wave. In the original interview that served as a basis for this track, he reflected on sampling, arrangement, and software. He says that he appreciates the details in almost everything.

In the few seconds voice interpolation sampled from the interview, the phrase «My Name Is...» is looped until the track’s end. The song’s bouncy drum pattern follows a two bar piano loop sample, the kick’s insistence almost leaves one probing for their own name.

The name behind the moniker Jinku is Jacob Solomon. He’s a Nairobi-based graphic designer and musician and conceives of himself as an all-around creative. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Spotify, or SoundCloud.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on February 26, 2020.

06 7Headc0: «Happy Songs»
remixed words by Moroko Kalahari

Gengepress by 7Headc0

As a pioneer of a niche freestyle steez1 in Nairobi, Moroko Kalahari’s consistency in the recording studios of Kibera2 and his legacy position him at a peculiar place. He is connected gengetone through his young contemporaries, rappers who look up to him skillswise. With different gengetone styles from every hood, Moroko speaks on Kibera gengetone aesthetics in particular. In the interview that served as a basis for this track, he took the role of a big brother and spoke on music and politics.

«We don’t like to go all the way out politically. Although, Kibera is a really political, sensitive location to do music from.»

«On the gengetone, gengetone is really when you look at the music. It’s about... Yeah, it’s sex music. But Kibera gengetone is different from Nairobi, the other side of Nairobi gengetone, because we are not explicit. Because your friend is Muslim, your girlfriend maybe is Muslim. So, we have that amount of respect.»

– Moroko Kalahari on Kibera’s gengetone

Moroko Kalahari is a Nairobi-based emcee, musician, and visual artist. He used to rip out mics at freestyles sessions around the globe. His live performances are still some of the dopest around and his versatility continues to show and blend in hip hop, gengetone, and its subgenres. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on February 27, 2020.

07 7Headc0: «Touch in Time»
remixed words by MR. LU*

Gengepress by 7Headc0

From the sample material, MR. LU* speaks of different worlds in Nairobi music that he’s part of. Histories bounce off one another as he locates himself within the city sound. Mostly influenced by Matatu3 culture, he gives props to his crew XPRSO and his friends, and the Nairobi Ableton community which he has, together with the artist KMRU, helped to see through. As a sample-based producer, MR. LU* breaks down his sampling and chopping processes and defends sampling as a technique and an art of preservation. He speaks of his hope for artists to change society.

«And we always try to create music that simulates that. And another influence, we mainly take influence from elements in the city and just in our own lives. And we try to put that in song.»

«So I feel like most artists in this world could bring a lot of change and they reflect a lot of what happens in society. And I feel like we should all just listen to our little voice inside that brings change.»

– MR. LU*

MR LU* is an audio-visual artist based in Nairobi and he has a four member music and genre and culture collective. They call themselves XPRSO. Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp, Spotify, or SoundCloud.

Based on an interview by Thomas Burkhalter, conducted on March 6, 2020.

1. Another word for «style», popular in hip hop slang.
2. According to Wikipedia, Kibera is the largest urban slum in Africa.
3. Popular public transport buses in Nairobi.

These remixes are part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» curated and edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Biography

Raphael Kariuki, aka djrPH, is a Nairobian electronic musician, sound artist, and DJ. He is a resident DJ and curator at The Mist, Nairobi’s first venue dedicated to underground and experimental music. His latest EP, hope/currency, is a collaboration with the spoken-word artist Kins of Spade. Raph is a long-time collaborator with Norient. In 2022, he curated the online publication «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» together with author and writer Kamwangi Njue. Follow him on Instagram Mixcloud Bandcamp SoundCloud Facebook.

Biography

Kamwangi Njue is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and experimental beatmaker working with artists and others from Nairobi, Kenya. He has developed, participated, and delivered a range of collaborative projects and events including performances, shows, exhibitions, texts, and readings. For Norient, he curated the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» in 2022. Follow him on LinkedIn, and Bandcamp.

Links

Raphael Kariuki: «Portrait of a Young Man» (Norient)

Thomas Burkhalter: «Nairobi’s Next Generation Music Producers and Performing Artists Speak Out» (Norient)

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Gengepress

€6.00

Nairobi-based artists Kamwangi Njue (7Headc0) and Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph) remixed conversations between seven Nairobi musicians and Norient’s Thomas Burkhalter, resulting in this compilation album.

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Portrait of a Young Man

€4.00

A remixed profile of young Nairobi-based DJ/producer Victor Munyasya, an exciting newcomer to the city’s electronic scene. Baring his soul in this abridged interview, he challenges the need for false identities and the social pressures behind it.

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NairobiConscious

€6.00

Not your usual matatu ride. New flow from Kalamashaka OG’s Roba and Githingithia. New sounds from Nyokabi, Kaharibu Records, Al-Shaverb, and names you’ve never heard before. We hope this compilation of music by our friends takes you to interesting and unexpected places.

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Published on May 06, 2022

Last updated on August 25, 2022

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Great Indian Rock Festival, 2008 (photo: Shiv Ahuja).

Needling Nostalgia: The Then and Now of Delhi’s Independent Music Scene

Essay

by Shomi Gupta

A personal essay in which the author interrogates the musical milieu of the past through the lens of the present. Through reflections, quotes, references to archival material, and a drift through memoryscapes, the author reflects upon the transitional entity of the music scene in the city of Delhi, which he has witnessed from the 2000s all the way till now, reflecting on what was «popular» or «headlining» at various points. The need to step out of nostalgia when thinking of musical communities of a bygone era underscores the essay as it draws upon other characters and people who enter, exit, and contribute to the scene that is always on the cusp of its next transformation.

In the early 2000s, the Delhi scene was a very small bubble defined by its counter-cultural positioning vis-à-vis the mainstream and perched on the shoulders of a fairly straight-forwardrock/metal sound that lumped various genres together. Live shows meant familiar faces, a sense of community/identity, and a shared sense of optimism over the potential of what was happening. Bands were still playing cover-heavy sets peppered with a smattering of their own songs (also referred to as «self comps») and I had just started dreaming of becoming a music journalist. In fact, the arrival of electronic rock or electronica or «guitar with laptop» was the dawn of something new and it still feels like two summers back.

This is why, of all the ways that time has curdled, saying «Linkin Park is classic rock» is the sourest: it places the music of our youth in the same pantheon as the music of our parents’ youth, which has rightfully turned members of what a friend called the «OG1 rock scene» into greying grumps. Put a bunch of us into a room and chances are that one might get stuck in a loop of reminiscing the good ‘ol days. Musical memories are related to knowing who we are, but nothing makes me grumpier than lingering too long in the hallways of reminiscence, largely because it comes in the way of appreciating a present that is markedly better in many ways.

The GIR Era Deep Freeze

The Road Ahead, Rock Street Journal, August 2006 (photo: Shomi).

These good ‘ol days can largely be defined as the era of the late Amit Saigal, one of the earliest and most iconic patrons of the music scene, fondly called Papa Rock by us bright-eyed upstarts. He was the founder of Rock Street Journal, which began as an informal newsletter for bands and grew to become a magazine and events company that nurtured the scene. It sponsored college fests, coaxed pubs into hosting bands on certain nights, and organized its own rock festival (Great Indian Rock aka GIR), which was a gateway for cultural exchange between bands from India and Norway.

Along the way it bolstered a sense of legitimacy. I got my first job as a writer and editor, and soon enough, we were featuring bands from across the country on the cover. It laid down the groundwork for corporate patronage and encouraged many others to look at the independent music scene as more than a transitional phase between going to college and getting serious in life. But it didn’t prepare me for today, a time when every day is the 20^th anniversary of something, which in turn seems to reinforce that at this point, memories are all we have. And as definitive as these memories are, they seem to suggest that things just stopped or froze there. But they didn’t, they just changed. And that’s not completely a bad thing.

The Digital Turn or Just Another Fad?

A lot of this division between then and now seems to (incorrectly) rest on an analog versus digital divide, which is owed to the sudden rise in the popularity of EDM2 as the new commercial pop sound of the 2010s. EDM elbowed out live bands with multiple instrumentalists from venues because promoters realized that the booking costs for EDM were lower (personnel and equipment costs dropped) and the crowds higher. This created a kind of antagonism towards any and all kinds of electronic music and discounted any craft or artistry associated with producing this music. The computer (or the laptop) was suddenly the enemy, and anyone who produced or performed electronic music was painted with the same brush of «button pusher». I don’t remember the exact year, but I do remember the often-heard words, «I thought the laptop was just another fad». Nothing summed up disappointment better than this phrase, but to constantly hark back to a time when «musicians didn’t play computers» really pisses me off on behalf of computers, because what computers did is much more than popularize dance music – they made music production accessible. In doing so, the computer also opened up the scene for a lot of musicians who were not making generic four-to-the-floor dance music or just pressing play on consoles.

Varying opinions about the scene on a Facebook opinion thread (screenshot: Facebook).

One of Delhi’s biggest exports, Skyharbor – a prog-metal band with transatlantic members – was kickstarted by a bedroom producer. Keshav Dhar, the founding member, started writing and recording djent (a subgenre of metal), which blew up over the internet and attracted a lot of interest from musicians across the world. Soon, Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) reached out to him for a collaboration, an epochal moment for a scene where many idolized Megadeth. Keshav had arrived.

But it didn’t stop there, Skyharbor was to soon become a five-member touring outfit with multiple shows and stints across Europe and America. It was a step forward from cultural exchange programs, and a quick Google search will tell you that they have played some big stages across the world. In fact, as I type this, Peter Cat Recording Co., just completed their tour of America and announced their dates for Europe; an Instagram notification on my phone is suggesting that I watch two bands, Crocsak and Time Throttle. I can assure you that the laptop has enabled each of these bands to record or perform their music in one way or the other.

Sponsored Instagram post by Time Throttle showing up on the author’s feed (screenshot: Instagram).

How Many Exposures Does It Take to Pay the Rent?

In its nascent stages, the scene wasn’t really a viable option if you were looking to get serious about a career. Bands barely made any money, were often asked to play for «exposure» (a common joke that implied that getting seen was more important than getting paid), and many musicians had to quit making music or just work with film music directors. Today, the number of musicians who believe they can survive by sticking to their sound or carving their own path is a sizable number.

At its youngest, the scene was an affirmation of our anglicized tastes and gave us an identity;along the way, it has also nurtured careers, from producers and managers to touring/production support. In fact, one of Delhi’s most interesting exports is a bilingual metal band called Bloodywood. The band has played only 14 shows in India but has played close to a hundred shows worldwide, including Japan. Their mix of Punjabi, Hindi, and English with Indian instruments and heavy metal chugs is unapologetic, and they have a rabid global following. What they don’t have is side jobs or main jobs; they’re just one band amongst many others who are not afraid to test the waters of being full-time musicians.

This Is Not a Throwback

The scene is now many scenes, and much like the rest of India, hip hop has gained prominence. A close look at 2022’s list of releases compiled by journalist Amit Gurbaxani (Indian Music Charts Podcast) reveals that 36 out of 82 releases from Delhi in 2022 were hip hop. That is 43.9 percent of all releases. The hip hop scene in Delhi is conspicuously Hindi, and thus, significantly different from the rock scene. In keeping with the roots of the genre, it has embraced within its folds themes of socio-political justice. Hip hop as we’d known it earlier was largely co-opted by Bollywood, and the Punjabi rap scene was basically about churning out party anthems that were themed along the lines of bling, girls, and machismo. Today, hip hop is far more exciting than that and includes varying perspectives and demographics, and much like metal, is the voice of angst and assertion. The music scene of the early 2000s was about finding a space – albeit well-defined and self-conscious – outside the narrow fit of the mainstream. In 2023, it is a space that is far more comfortable with its evolving identity.

I’d be lying if I said that I don’t miss some of the bands I loved and heard. I miss them even more because many of their songs hadn’t been recorded for posterity. Perhaps, if we had more songs, we wouldn’t have to relive those moments at the expense of the present. And yet, even that feels so transitory now. Over the past two weeks, I’ve found myself at three different gigs – one metal, the other blues, and the third reminiscent of 1980s synthpop – and to label each of these gigs as a «throwback» is a denial of the present that contains much more than one kind of sound or aesthetic.

So much of this is the future that I had longed for during the good ‘ol days (and a lifetime of security and stability as a music writer but I guess this will do for now) that reminiscing the past constantly feels like betraying my younger self who just wanted the scene to grow in a way that nourishes and includes. I was never going to be the main character; at best, I’d be almost famous.

1. OG, short for «original gangster» or «original gangsta», is a slang term for someone or something incredibly exceptional, authentic, or «old-school».
2. Electronic Dance Music.

This essay is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Delhi», curated and edited by Suvani Suri.

Project Assistance: Geetanjali Kalta
Graphics/Visual Design: Upendra Vaddadi, Neelansh Mittra
Audio Production: Abhishek Mathur
Video Production: Ammar

Biography

Shomi Gupta is a writer and a filmmaker from New Delhi, India. He believes that his best days are still ahead of him, in which he will sleep better, live fitter and perhaps even complete his unfinished scripts. For now, though, he is at the frontline of a war with himself in which no matter who loses, he wins. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, X, SoundCloud, or Bandcamp.

Published on September 29, 2023

Last updated on February 21, 2024

Topics

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Nostalgia

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Portrait of a Young Man by Victor Munyasya, DJ Raph

Portrait of a Young Man

Remix

by Raphael Kariuki,

Thomas Burkhalter

Victor Munyasya only just started college, but he is raring to go in the world of music. In this short remixed interview, he shares his growing challenges, reflections on what matters and what doesn’t, and wonders what it will take for him to be taken seriously as an artist despite his age.

Victor Munyasya, born in 2002, is a Nairobi-based DJ/producer. He describes his sound as «A raw and emotional style of electronic music at odds with the prevalent sounds from Nairobi». Follow him on Instagram, Spotify, or SoundCloud.

Remixes by DJ Raph, working with Munyasya’s previously independently released music. Interview conducted by Thomas Burkhalter on February 27, 2020. These remixes are part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» curated and edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Biography

Dr. Thomas Burkhalter is an anthropologist/ethnomusicologist, AV-artist, and writer from Bern (Switzerland). He is the founder and director of Norient and the Norient Festival (NF), co-directed AV-performances and documentary films (e.g. «Contradict», Berner Filmpreis 2020 + Al-Jazeera Witness), and is the author and co-editor of several books (e.g., «Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut», Routledge, «The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East», Wesleyan University Press). He teaches regularly at universities, and runs workshops for arts institutions. Since 2022 he produces the Norient Mixtape for Swiss National Radio SRF3. Currently, he is working on his new music project «Melodies In My Head», and on the podcast series «South Asian Sound Stories» with musicians from the UK, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Follow him on Spotify, Research Gate, Academia.edu, Instagram, X, or Facebook.

Links

Thomas Burkhalter: «Nairobi’s Next Generation Music Producers and Performing Artists Speak Out» (Norient)

Published on May 06, 2022

Last updated on August 25, 2022

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