About Us — Santuri East Africa

David Tinning

David co-founded Santuri with Gregg Tendwa in 2013, after a lengthy Skype call about sample culture, East African musical identity and the global electronic music scene. He’s worked for Native Instruments (twice), Tanzania Heritage Project, Sauti za Busara and the Mines Advisory Group in Kosovo and Cambodia. He’s also freelanced for Ableton, managed CDR Berlin, and is on the advisory board at Cashmere Radio, where he also hosts a show.
Email: david@santuri.org

Gregory Mwendwa

Commonly known as mwalimu Gregg Tendwa, is a specialist in communications for development and social innovation management. Over the last decade, he designed and delivered impactful strategic campaigns, social innovations and capacity building programs across a variety of social challenges. As co-founder and director of Santuri East Africa, he balances his expertise in strategic thinking with his deep networks and nose for development opportunities.

Sharon Onyango-Obbo

Sharon is a Ugandan, Kenyan-based operations consultant, record producer and mix engineer. A trailblazer of audio production in Nairobi, Kenya, Sharon's sonic palette is an elegant blend of Safari Trap, Nairobi R&B and Afro Pop. Her mission is to shape Africa’s socio-economic landscape using music production, technology and innovation as agents of development. As an economist and classically trained musician, she is in pursuit of a legacy built on sustainability and creative entrepreneurship across the continent.

Justin Doucet

Justin (a.k.a "Huilly Huile") is a DJ/Producer and co-host of the Échantillons podcast on Montréal’s n10.as webradio, He is always breaking new sounds and his love for pan-african music is contagious. He moves to Afro-house, afro-pop, afro-trap, kuduro, traditional & tribal music.

Emma Nzioka

Emma (a.k.a "Coco EM") is a DJ/producer, filmmaker and photojournalist based in Nairobi Kenya with a strong passion for music, activism and creating new experiences with good people all over the world. She has performed on numerous stages such as Boiler room Nairobi, Beat hotel Marrakech, Terra Negra Tunisia, Nyege Nyege fest Uganda among others. Her sound spans afro house, kuduro to lingala and hip-hop.

Felix Mwitah

Felix (a.k.a "Budalagi") is a Nairobi born and bred DJ/producer and lawyer passionate about artists rights in the scene. He is as eclectic as they come having put out genre blending projects ranging from high octane singeli all through to groovy tech cuts. He's set his sights on shaping a distinct electronic sound for the Kenyan region.

James Ler

James Ler is a music producer based in Nairobi, passionate about the intersection of music and technology. Has been actively making music as part of the trio L3GS as well as putting out solo releases as Ng’at Maler. His musical influences and inspirations range from electronic music from artists such as Burial and Four Tet to local meledic sounds of Ayub Ogada.

Wairimu Sisian

Wairimu Sisian is a curiosity-driven artist and music business practitioner who’s currently nested on investigating digital music distribution access and opportunities for East African musicians. Sonically, Sisian juggles between solo soulful songwriting and performance, as well as experimental electronic music production as part of the eclectic duo “Air Conditioner”.

Alina Oswald

Alina conceptualised the SEMA alums program as a volunteer. She first encountered Santuri in 2015 while studying for a semester at the University of Dar es Salaam. Since then she’s supported a few Santuri projects in different fields, from research consultancies, project design and implementation while pursuing a Ph.D. in African History.

Victor Kimina

Kimina is a Nairobi-based producer and artist who has been honing his skills in music production and collaboration over the past several years as a regular member of the Ableton producer meetups. With an interest in music, education and technology his sound and direction is clear to see as a community driven individual.

Bryan Murgor

Bryan, aka ‘SnSe’, is a graduate of the first SEMA cohort, and the TTT training. A talented producer, musician and DJ, he’s currently one of the key tutors on the SEMA course.

Luther Wambua

MR. LU* is a Kenyan producer, composer, DJ and artist who creates music that spans the sonic spectrum. LU*’s zesty personality, coupled with his versatility as a producer, live performer, and visual artist make him the consummate artist. When he is not making music, you will find him creatively directing and shooting videos, editing and designing. He has been part of the design team.

Who We Are

Our Mission