Project:
Dancehall to Gengetone and back - new avenues in soundsystem culture
Status: Completed
Timeframe: October 2024 - July 2025
Project description:
This project brought together artists with exceptional skills from disparate backgrounds to explore linkages within their work, backgrounds and related youth culture movements. Itinvestigated the similarities and differences between strains of dancehall and soundsystem culture from Jamaica currently being cross-pollinated with electronic music from Germany, and urban youth cultural phenomena from Nairobi, Kenya in the form of the genres of ‘gengetone’ and ‘arbantone’. These genres are heavily influenced by dancehall, and face similar backlash in terms of demonisation and perceived underclass transgressive behaviour and attitudes. The projectreframed this dynamic as part of a larger decolonization of musical languages and opened up dialogues between participants that will inform new strains of global hybridity. Itpresented the results of this dynamic cultural exchange at 3 major locations Santuri / Kilele in Nairobi, Karneval der Kulturen in Berlin, and at Europe’s celebrated new club space, Open Ground in Wuppertal, Germany.
The project wasundertaken as a reciprocal residency connecting Gavin Blair (Gavsborg, Equiknoxx Music), a Jamaican producer, DJ and performer based in Berlin, and SnSe and Rafiiki - artists from Nairobi focussed around Santuri East Africa, the award-winning music innovation hub.
Phase 1: Research and Project Development at Kilele Summit, Feburary 2025
The first phase of this project saw the creation of a new artistic partnership between Rafiiki, and SnSe, two artists active in the gengetone sub-culture. Under the name Arif, the pair created a set of new music and performed it at the showcase finale of Kilele 26.
Images and footage: Febuary 18th, 2025
In parallel, Luca Jacob, (CEO of Piranha Arts, the organisation that producers Karneval Der Kultur and WOMEX), attended Kilele in order to prepare for the 2nd Phase of the project in Berlin, in June. Luca appeared on the Signal Flow panel about international partnerships and collaborative opportunties, and participated in workshops and meet ups to better understand the cultural context the project takes place in.
Phase 2 - Germany residency, June 1st to June 21st, 2025.
Over a three week period in June, SnSe and Rafiiki travelled to Berlin to begin the residency proper, in collaboration with Gavin Blair, Aka
Santiuri East Africa
Basement, The MallWestlands, Nairobi, Kenya
