Gengepress

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€6.00

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.

+++ Purchase this EP on Bandcamp now! +++

Part of the Norient Special Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

In this first Norient City Sounds Online Special, we focus on Nairobi, Kenya, at a time when political and social pressures are rising in tandem with the cost of things and the noise of the approaching elections in Summer 2022. Titled «NairobiConscious», this virtual exhibition began with the curators discussing a perceived increase in «serious» social and political content in the popular songs of the city. The investigation into «conscious» music develops into a portrait of the city taken from interesting and varied perspectives, resulting in a colorful number of articles, podcasts, graphics, photographs, tracks, and more. Curated by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Explore full Special.

Tracklist

1. DJ Raph: «Complete Faith» feat. Blinky Bill

2. Kamwangi Njue: «On Playing Gengetone» feat. Coco Em

3. DJ Raph: «Gengepress» feat. Hitman Kaht

4. DJ Raph: «Fuck Police Everywhere» feat. 7Headc0

5. 7Headc0: «My Name Is» feat. Jinku

6. 7Headc0: «Happy Songs» feat. Moroko Kalahari

7. 7Headc0: «Touch in Time» feat. MR LU*

Imprint and Credits

[NT016]
These remixes are part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.
Released May 6, 2022

TIMEZONES – Season 2

by Rana Eid,

Compilation

€15.00

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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. Season 2 focuses on Beirut, Montréal, Dhaka, Mt Makiling (Philippines), and Gaza.

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.

+++ Purchase Season 2 on Bandcamp now! +++

Tracklist

01 Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi:
Beirut: Traces of a City – A Pod Poem

02 Nesrine Khodr
On Creativity in Times of Crisis and Truthfulness in Sonic Representation (Beirut Bonus Track)

03 Esther Bourdegas:
Montréal, Your Ears Are My Island

04 Stefan Christoff
Artists on Real Estate Monsters and Montréal (Montréal Bonus Track)

05 BLKBX:
Technoloy – The New Normal for Dhaka’s Artists

06 meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis:
Ears on/of Makiling

07 Dayang Yraola
Makiling’s Silence: A Memory, a Source, a Force of Creative Lives and Ceaseless Meanderings (Makiling Bonus Track)

08 Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi:
Gaza – When Beyond the Norm Becomes the Norm

09 Rania Al Namara (Elhelo)
Beyond Borders: Bringing Artists Together Despite the Odds

The Episodes

E06 Beirut
Traces of a City – A Pod Poem

The city of Beirut is a space that is constantly transforming. From the violent conflicts of the recent past to the social uncertainty of the present, Beirut has become synonymous with precariousness.

A podcast by Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi

E07 Montréal
Montréal, Your Ears Are My Island

This episode portrays the diverse music scenes of Montréal. Producer Esther Bourdages traces their global connections and historical roots and explores the effects of gentrification on the city’s cultural life.

A podcast by Esther Bourdegas

E08 Dhaka
Technoloy – The New Normal for Dhaka’s Artists

This episode is produced by the Bangladeshi artist duo BLKBX and delves into Dhaka’s arts scenes. It features the city’s transformation towards digitization and the ramifications for artists living and working in the metropole.

A podcast by BLKBX

E09 Mt Makiling
Ears on/of Makiling

This episode explores the stories and sounds of Mount Makiling, located 80 kilometres South of the Philippine capital of Manila. Makiling is the sacred site of local legends, the setting for numerous classical works of literature, and a pilgrimage destination for many mystics. And it is the home of many artists and arts students.

A podcast by meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis

E10 Gaza
Gaza – When Beyond the Norm Becomes the Norm

This episode features a group of artists from the Gaza Strip, a territory suffering from the Israeli blockade established in 2007. This podcast episode reflects the digital reality of being together as a people and thus sheds light on the enormous challenges of working as a Palestinian artist today.

A podcast by Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi

Trailer Season 2

Imprint and Credits

[NT014]

Podcasts by Rana Eid and Nadim Mishlawi, Esther Bourdegas, BLKBX, meLê yamomo and Nono Pardalis, Alia Rayyan and Alaa Barghouthi

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

Featuring: Chaza Charafeddine, Muriel N. Kahwagi, Sharif Sehnaoui, Rana Eid, Adam Basanta, Mili Hong, Silvano Mercado Vilches, Joseph Sannicandro, Kimihiro Yasaka, Sounak Das, Shadwaan Chowdhury, Nazifa Raidah, Muttaki Mahmud, Datu Arellano, Donna Cher dela Cruz, Dennis Gupa, Karlene Moreno Hayworth, Reagan Romero Maiquez, Nono Pardalis, meLê yamomo, Rehaf Al Batniji, Salman Nawati, Mahmoud Al Shaer

Artistic Curation/Editors: Thomas Burkhalter, Svetlana Maraš, Abhishek Mathur, Suvani Suri
Project Management: Hannes Liechti
Jingle Voiceover: Nana Akosua Hanson
Jingle Mix: Daniel Jakob
Mastering: Adi Flück and Rea Dubach, Centraldubs
Artwork: Šejma Fere
Video Trailer: Emma Nzioka

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

The work of the artistic editors Suvani Suri and Abhishek Matur is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Additional funding by the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation (episodes Beirut, Dhaka, Gaza).

Portrait of a Young Man

by Raphael Kariuki

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€4.00

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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».

+++ Purchase EP on Bandcamp now! +++

Part of the Norient Special Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

In this first Norient City Sounds Online Special, we focus on Nairobi, Kenya, at a time when political and social pressures are rising in tandem with the cost of things and the noise of the approaching elections in Summer 2022. Titled «NairobiConscious», this virtual exhibition began with the curators discussing a perceived increase in «serious» social and political content in the popular songs of the city. The investigation into «conscious» music develops into a portrait of the city taken from interesting and varied perspectives, resulting in a colorful number of articles, podcasts, graphics, photographs, tracks, and more. Curated by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Explore full Special.

Tracklist

1. «Portrait of a Young Man»

2. «Back of Mind»

3. «Validation»

4. «ID»

Imprint and Credits

[NT015]
These remixes are part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.
Released May 6, 2022