Nyege Nyege Festival, and its associated labels Nyege Nyege Tapes and Hakuna Kulala, are part of a music incubator based in Kampala that has two main areas of focus: to promote the diversity of music from the continent, especially endogenous micro-scenes and independent/outsider producers, and to level the access to means of production to build a sustainable economy that supports diversity.
For this year’s virtual National Arts Festival, we will travel to Mali to meet DJ Diaki, pioneer of the Balani show scene, then head to Dar Es Salaam to discover singeli, the breakneck speed sound directly in conversation with Balani, then to Northern Uganda to discover contemporary electronic music inspired by Acholi traditions. Finally, we’ll look at two more urban sounds, the Gengetone craze which gave East Africa a response to Nigerian pop, and South African east coast Gqom, which is inspired by more contemporary electronic club music.
We’ll also proudly present four performances, DIY modular synth builder Afrorack, Kenyan grindcore outfit Duma, East African hiphop diva MC Yallah, and avant-jazz project HHY & the Kampala Unit, who were all set to tour this summer and who will soon be releasing new works.