Word on the Street

Video

Oscar Mizani is a young rapper and a serious hustler. Eschewing the normal routes, he has carved himself a unique niche in the city by using Matatus – Nairobi’s (in)famous public transport vehicles – as the locations for his music performances and outlets for sales. Oscar’s music has a social message, addressing issues in common with the young and restless of the city.

Keep up with Mizani on Instagram or on his YouTube channel.

This video is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Nairobi» curated and edited by Raphael Kariuki and Kamwangi Njue.

Biography

Victor Mutali is a graphic designer and photographer working in Nairobi, Kenya. Follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Behance.

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.

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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

Topics

Activism

City

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Special

Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

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Nairobi Surround

Podcast

by Raphael Kariuki

The curators of the Norient Special Norient City Sounds: Nairobi, Kamwangi Njue and Raphael Kariuki, meet with a diverse cast of artists from Nairobi to discuss their everyday life experiences, as well as thoughts on political and social messages in music. In a typically tumultuous election period in a city of stark wealth inequality in early 2022, and against a backdrop of growing discontent over the rising costs of food, fuel, and more, these conversations reveal similarities and differences in the outlooks of different artists, a clue into the experience of the different people of the city.

A podcast produced by Raphael Kariuki (DJ Raph).

Featuring

Otieno Gomba, founder of Maasai Mbili art collective (M2) from Kibera, Nairobi, leader of the M2 band, known for their improvised percussion and vocals, and lover of the traditional dance ohangla.

MC Sharon aka AlShaverb aka Decibelle, rapper, singer and producer. Her song «So Special» from her latest album, The Last Will and Testament, is featured in the Norient City Sounds: Nairobi compilation album.

Juliani, rapper and founder/director of Dandora HipHop City, a community center based at the Dandora dumpsite, Eastlands, Nairobi.

Nyokabi, a classical and experimental composer based between Nairobi and New York. Her debut EP Peace Places: Kenyan Memories was recently reviewed by The Guardian.

Dennis Muraguri, a visual artist whose work is mostly focused on matatu culture. He also works with sculpture. Dennis designed 100 hand-printed t-shirts for Norient City Sounds: Nairobi, available for sale in Nairobi.

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Tracklist

Otieno Gomba/M2 Band: «Untitled Improv Session»

MC Sharon: «So Special»

Nyokabi: «Galu»

Juliani: «Fanya Tena (Kilio Cha Haki)»

Citysynthesis: «Traffic Jazz»

This podcast 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.

Published on May 06, 2022

Last updated on August 25, 2022

Topics

City

Creativity

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Special

Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

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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

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

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 duo «Melodies In My Head», and on the podcast series «Long Take: Life as an Artist». Follow him on Instagram, Research Gate, Academia.edu, Bandcamp, Spotify, or Meta.

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

Topic

Youth

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Norient City Sounds: Nairobi

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