TIMEZONES - Nairobi&#39;s next generation music producers and performing artists speak out. by Norient Sounds

Nairobi’s Next Generation Music Producers and Performing Artists Speak Out

Podcast

Episode 1 of the TIMEZONES podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut.

In recent years, small-scale studios in Nairobi have begun producing music locally, and some of their output reaches millions of listeners in Kenya, or create buzz and noise in international niche music scenes. Their producers and musicians are turning old hierarchies upside down, often calling for social and political reforms. But they’re also facing a lot of resistance.

A podcast by Thomas Burkhalter.

Co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut

Featuring: Baby Elephante, Blinky Bill, Boutross, Coco.em, DJ Raph, Hitman Kaht, Kamwangi Njue, Karun, Janice Iche, Jinku, Joseph Kamaru (KMRU), Manch!ld (debe), Moroko Kalahari, MR. LU (XPRSO), MUNYASYA and Wambui Kamiru

Director, idea, interviews: Thomas Burkhalter
Music: Thomas Burkhalter, Daniel Jakob
Additional Samples: Joseph Kamaru, Boutross + soundofnairobi.net
Additional Voiceovers: Kacey Moore, Selasia A. Djameh
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Editing: Thomas Burkhalter, Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere

→ Full transcript of Episode 1

Listen on

→ Listen to further TIMEZONES episodes

Additional Playlists

Enjoy two playlists deriving from the research that led to the TIMEZONES Nairobi podcast by Norient and the Goethe Institut.

Curated by Thomas Burkhalter

Featuring a wide variety of mostly subcultural sounds from Nairobi, released in 2020: experimental sounds, lo-fi r&b, shrap, gengetone, and more. Keep digging (there is more!), follow the artists, and support their work – via platforms like Bandcamp (#nairobi).

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what does living and working in culture and the arts involve in different countries, cities, and contexts today? The artists’ thoughts on their moods, their social, political, and intellectual realities and their philosophies (of life) have been worked up into experimental audio collages.

The podcasts run the gamut of formats and content, from straight journalism to experimental and documentary approaches, ethnography and fiction, sound art, and improvisation. The TIMEZONES series endeavours to create new artistic forms of storytelling, listening and exchange across the boundaries of geography, time zones, genres, and practices.

The TIMEZONES podcast series is co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut.

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

Daniel Künzler: «Eclectic Dance Music from Kenya» (Norient)

Hannes Liechti: «Sampling Stories Vol. 18: DJ Raph» (Norient)

Alan Marzo: «Benga: From the Streets of Nairobi» (Norient)

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TIMEZONES – Season 1

€15.00

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what living and working in culture and the arts involvse in different contexts today? Season 1 with a focus on Nairobi, Belgrade/Sabac/Zurich, Delhi, the Bay Area, and Rio de Janeiro.

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TIMEZONES – Season 2

€15.00

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what does living and working in culture and the arts involve in different countries, cities, and contexts today? Season 2 focuses on Beirut, Montréal, Dhaka, Mt Makiling, and Gaza.

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TIMEZONES – Season 3

€15.00

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what does living and working in culture and the arts involve in different contexts today? Season 3 travels from Budapest to Colombo, Buenos Aires, and Ukraine.

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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 October 01, 2020

Last updated on October 12, 2023

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TIMEZONES - The Life in Music of Three Experimental Musicians (in Serbia and Switzerland) by Svetlana Maraš

The Life in Music of Three Experimental Musicians (in Serbia and Switzerland)

Podcast

by Svetlana Maraš

Episode 2 of the TIMEZONES podcast series, co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut. An electro-acoustic composition based on the interviews with the three artists Mara Miccichè, Branko Džinović, and Vukašin Đelić, the close friends and collaborators of the podcast producer, who have never met each other.

They live in three different cities – Šabac, Belgrade, Zurich. Their stories as well as their sounds, intertwine throughout the piece modified and accompanied by the sounds of the podcast producer, all of them creating an ensemble of voices, sounds, and musical fragments deriving from diverse set of musical practices by each of them.

A podcast by Belgrade-based composer and sound artist Svetlana Maraš

Co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut

Featuring: Mara Miccichè, Branko Džinović, and Vukašin Đelić

Composition, Montage: Svetlana Maraš
Sounds and Words by: Mara Miccichè, Branko Džinović, and Vukašin Đelić
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Mastering: Adi Flück, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere

Listen on

→ Listen to further TIMEZONES episodes

Branko Džinović is an accordion and bandoneon player born in Šabac, Serbia. He is performer, improviser, and composer. Concert reviewers have called him «a dangerously active volcano» (Austrian Kronen Zeutung) and described his playing as «ingenious» (Neues Volksblatt). He was «Grand Prize» winner at the 2001 Accordion World Cup in London, U.K.; he won the 2004 «Das Podium» in Linz and the 2013 «DMA Recital Competition» at the University of Toronto – both of which are open to all instrumentalists. Džinović holds a Master’s degree from the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance in Linz (MA, 2008) and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA, 2017) in performance from the University of Toronto. He currently lives in Šabac.

Vukašin Đelić (Woo) is a guitarist from Belgrade. Member of Dol band and man behind Belgrade Noise Recordings. He has made many significant performances solo and with other people, both in Serbia and internationally. His latest album U zavisnosti od dana, was released in May 2020 and was recorded in his house in Grocka, on the city outskirts. Vukašin lives in Belgrade.

Mara Miccichè is a vocalist and composer from Zurich. She holds Master Of Arts in Music POP from ZhdK (Zurich). She performed internationally at places such as Les Digitales Festival, Zürich (CH), EXPO Milan – Swiss Pavillon, H3K, Basel, Teatro di Locarno and many other places. She is preparing a new release for the OUS, Swiss-based label.

Additional Playlists

The TIMEZONES podcast series plunges into the world of artists and their practices, asking: what does living and working in culture and the arts involve in different countries, cities, and contexts today? The artists’ thoughts on their moods, their social, political, and intellectual realities and their philosophies (of life) have been worked up into experimental audio collages.

The podcasts run the gamut of formats and content, from straight journalism to experimental and documentary approaches, ethnography and fiction, sound art, and improvisation. The TIMEZONES series endeavours to create new artistic forms of storytelling, listening and exchange across the boundaries of geography, time zones, genres, and practices.

The TIMEZONES podcast series is co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut.