Project:  

Amplifying and Remixing Kenyan Coastal Music Heritage

Status: Started

Timeframe: September 2025 - February 2025 

Supported by: Braid Fund

Project description (from proposal):

Building on the success of the first project from 2023/24, we wish to expand the impact of our Amplifying Kenyan Coastal Music Heritage project by initiating a project that results in the preservation of existing archival material and creation of new work which will be  integrated into Kilele Summit 2026.

In 2023, we created a documentary about the Mbwana Radio Project in Mombasa, and facilitated the attendance of a Mijikenda band and entourage to Kilele Summit to perform and participate in workshops around IP, digitisation, and distribution of works.

In the meantime, preservation of the archive has been happening sporadically when funds are available. Additionally, Pwani Tapes, an independent artist-focussed label was created to give musicians who recorded at Mbwana Radio the chance to earn revenue from their work for the first time, garnering interest from new audiences and local and international press.

With this project we seek to take a next step and link the work done so far with our Summit.

As a part of of this project we wish to:

• digitize 20 cassettes of Mijikenda styles from the archive in preparation of the main project;
• invite artists from coastal communities to collaborate on a residency project with artists from the Santuri ecosystem to remix some of the digitised work and reimagine it in a co-creation session at Santuri Studio a week prior to Kilele;
• leverage the expertise and collaborative spirit of Kilele to go from reimagined work to finalized track by the end of summit;
• rehearse and perform the new tracks towards the end of Kilele Summit.

Apart from finalising the tracks and performing them, the invited artists can profit from three other opportunities offered at Kilele. Firstly, the artists can participate in workshops, round tables and one-on-one discussions around cultural exchange, IP, release strategies and creation of new audiences. Secondly, they can contribute to the Instrument Makers Lab - Kilele’s physical workshop for instrument creation and collaboration, where they can share insights into traditional instrument building techniques and learn from other approaches and technologies. Thirdly, the interactions can be documented and shared via Kilele’s official radio broadcast delivered by Calotropis Radio, who will livestream the Kilele program to an international audience.

This project provides coastal Kenyan music and culture a key role in the region's leading music and technology summit, accessing a growing and committed audience of music enthusiasts, label owners, media, experts and more.

It’s anticipated that the activities will bring greater visibility to coastal music communities, and will lead to enhanced revenue generation possibilities through collaboration, professionalisation, and access to dominant music markets. It will also educate and familiarize attendees of Kilele with coastal music practices and practitioners.