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Flow State

Virtual Soundwalk

Recordings of journeys in matatus (public transport buses) and Nairobi traffic are transformed into haunting, otherworldly voices. The mundane act of moving from place to place is no longer familiar. The city is disoriented, the certainties of everyday activity and usual urban busy-ness are suspended. Where are we, where are we going? One thing remains: In this town, one has to keep moving.

A-Composition by Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph)

B-Side: Audio track of the video portrait «Word on the Street» on the matatu performer Oscar Mizani

This virtual soundwalk is 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, or Facebook.

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NairobiConscious

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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 May 06, 2022

Topic

City

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Special

Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

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Melody for a Fallen City – in Three Parts

Mixtape

by Ziad Nawfal

Ziad Nawfal has been a pillar of Beirut’s music scene for 30 years. His knowledge of the city’s music is unmatched. In this poignant mixtape, Nawfal selects tracks by some of his favorite local musicians, some of whom he has worked closely with or produced during his long career. These compositions are weaved together with field recordings captured by his close friends and collaborators during the 2019 uprising.

At some point in my early teens, while living in Beirut in the midst of the ongoing civil war, I began to feel a morbid anxiety whenever my parents would go out at night to visit with their acquaintances. Sometimes in the daytime as well, but mostly at night. Over time, and as this anxiety became acute to the point where I could not be left at home unattended, my hearing became attuned to the sounds of car engines in the street. I could recognize the specific sound of my parents’ car, and once I heard it, my anxiety would immediately dissipate.

Glitches and Noise

My relationship to my native city of Beirut has always been marked by noises and sounds, their overbearing presence, their intensity, their rare absences. The engine of my parents’ car, the roaring of planes overhead, both fighter and commercial, calls to prayer firing up simultaneously, cars and scooters beeping and honking, tires screeching to a halt, my father’s portable radio in the next room, neighbors chatting throughout the night outside my window, school bells, church bells, air conditioners’ fans, the clanging of generators, the clamoring of fruit and vegetable sellers, and of course that staple of Beirut, those never-ending construction sites. My peace of mind or lack thereof came to be determined over time by my ability to grapple with the constant barrage of sounds, to bear it, to ignore it, to counter it, to forget about it. I applied additional coating to my apartment walls; I made the windows thicker and thicker; I bought ever more sophisticated headphones, earphones, earplugs. I argued with neighbors, I threw water at passersby, I called school offices and university offices. Noise always won. It always will, in a city like Beirut.

I handed in this mix of music for Norient in September 2021, a couple of weeks before leaving Lebanon for good. The ambient sounds of Beirut permeate this mix, they are constantly in the background. You will hear cars, salespeople, protesters, friends, patriots, enemies, metal, more metal. The sound captures are not mine, they were made by friends, some of them musicians (Fadi Tabbal and Jad Atoui), one a filmmaker (Ghassan Salhab). As for Bana Haffar’s field recordings, these were made during one of her trips to Beirut (now living in Asheville, North Carolina, she returned to Lebanon briefly in 2020 to set up the Beirut Synthesizer Center), using a rudimentary microcassette recorder. These different field recordings, city captures and found sounds weave in and out of the mix. I wanted the city to be present, invade the music in the same way its noise and din would invade my everyday activities.

Junctions

The songs that I chose to accompany the noise(s) of the city represent specific junctions of my long and sometimes arduous journey as a music producer and promoter in Beirut: Youmna Saba is one of the first musicians who played and recorded a live set for one of the Ruptured Sessions, a live music radio show I hosted during my long tenure at Radio Lebanon in Beirut. Jawad Nawfal, better known as Munma, is the artist I’ve worked with the longest, with my label Ruptured.

Charbel Haber and Marc Codsi, appearing here as solo musicians, were both involved with rock band Scrambled Eggs, the first rock band I produced in 2006. Sharif Sehnaoui, the man behind both Irtijal Festival and Al Maslakh record label, has over time become one of my closest and most trusted colleagues. Stéphanie Merchak and Two or The Dragon are artists whose music I fell for in the last couple of years – I strove and eventually managed to include them in several live performances and recordings I produced before leaving Lebanon.

Last but not least, «Beirut Drone ’19», from which there is an excerpt here, is the final large- scale music event I was able to put together in Beirut, with foreign partners as well as international and Lebanese musicians. The excerpt I included here is a good representation of the 12 glorious hours of music that took place on that summer day in 2019; guests Nathan Larson and Mika Takehara, from the U.S. and Japan respectively, can be heard improvising with Lebanese musicians Youmna Saba and Charbel Haber.

Detailed Track Listing

Movement #1 [0’00 – 13’50]
1. Charbel Haber, Mika Takehara, Nathan Larson and Youmna Saba: «Excerpt from Beirut Drone ’19»
2. Bana Haffar: «Castles in Beirut» [excerpt]
3. Two or The Dragon: «Dance Grooves for the Weary» [excerpt]
Beirut field recordings throughout by Fadi Tabbal and Ghassan Salhab

Movement #2 [13’50 – 27’05]
4. Charbel Haber: «Songs of Love» [excerpt]
5. Sharif Sehnaoui: «The Industry» [excerpt]
6. Munma: «La solitude des lendemains de guerre»
7. Stéphanie Merchak: «Espaces et ombres» [excerpt]
Beirut field recordings throughout by Jad Atoui and Ghassan Salhab

Movement #3 [27’05 – 38’00]
8. Marc Codsi: «Back to the Silence»
9. Youmna Saba: «Nafas» [Ruptured Sessions, excerpt]
Ziad Nawfal’s voice recorded at Radio Lebanon by Manolis Manousakis
Beirut field recordings throughout by Ghassan Salhab and Fadi Tabbal

This mixtape is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Beirut» curated and edited by Rayya Badran.

Biography

Ziad Nawfal is a Lebanese DJ, radio host, music promoter, and producer who has been making himself busy in the Beirut underground for nearly three decades now. He got his start in a legit role, playing music on the city’s government station Radio Liban. Always existing on the periphery of the station, and proudly flouting its rules, Nawfal programmed a show with a DIY ethos, playing lesser-known tunes from indie, psychedelic and experimental circles. He later became a DJ and promoter around the city, continuing to discover the hidden alternative scenes of Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He’s been active ever since, using his radio shows, as well as his record label Ruptured, to join up the eclectic range of sounds going on in the region. Follow him on BandCamp, Instagram, Mixcloud or on his label Website.

Links

Nadim Mishlawi, Rana Eid: «Beirut: Traces of a City – A Pod Poem» (Norient)

Published on August 25, 2022

Last updated on December 18, 2023

Topics

Soundscape

City

All Topics

Specials

Norient City Sounds: Beirut

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

Gengepress

Remix

by Raphael Kariuki,

Kamwangi Njue

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, or 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.