East Africa’s music tech and innovation summit is back
The 2nd edition of Kilele will land February 18th to 22nd, 2025. Here’s what you need to know.
Kilele is a space for adventurous music and culture.
With a rich mix of showcases, panels, workshops and installations, Kilele’s purpose is to spark conversations, collaborations and innovations. It’s for musicians, producers, DJs, technologists, activists, academics and anyone interested in the future of East African (and global) music. We bring everyone from international music brands to underground collectives together, and celebrate music and culture in an open and inclusive space.
When and where is it happening?
February 18th to 22nd 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Most of the events will happen at our homebase, The Mall, in Westlands.
We’re also planning some additional (still secret) locations for special events,
so keep an eye out for the full program.
Tickets on sale now
What’s On?
This year we are grouping our programme into distinct thematic areas, which are namely;
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After a year marked by ever increasing climate-related crises in Kenya and the world at large, how are artists and the music industry responding and relating to the issues of climate justice?
Our program at Kilele will include a wide range of responses to this question, from community activism within affected neighbourhoods, workshops on sustainability and creative recycling, as well as focussed sessions connecting and listening to the natural world.
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“Everything sounds somehow Western—very mechanical, not organic like the rough tones and raw drums I heard growing up in Nairobi. Even as I try to break away from the loops and the 1-2-3-4 drive of these music tools, I always end up back there somehow.” - Slickback
At Kilele 2024 we heard Astrid Bin’s comparison of the musical interfaces (midi controllers etc) with ultra processed food - generic, functional and predictable. This year we are diving into instrument creation from another direction. What can instrument builders learn from local creators, and what forms of hybridity are possible and desirable in the instruments of the future?
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Over the past decades community as a concept has been drained of its meaning, co-opted by corporations, governments, state institutions. In our own context around the industry of culture, we paradoxically see the emergence of true social communities that share values, connections, and ways of living, and the unseemly competition for resources, opportunities and recognition.
At Kilele we welcome Sound Communities from outside the mainstream - local, regional and global - to participate, collaborate, and share their passions, seeking new ways to reject polarization and foster understanding.
After a year marked by ever increasing climate-related crises in Kenya and the world at large, how are artists and the music industry responding and relating to the issues of climate justice?
Our program at Kilele will include a wide range of responses to this question, from community activism within affected neighbourhoods, workshops on sustainability and creative recycling, as well as focussed sessions connecting and listening to the natural world.
“Everything sounds somehow Western—very mechanical, not organic like the rough tones and raw drums I heard growing up in Nairobi. Even as I try to break away from the loops and the 1-2-3-4 drive of these music tools, I always end up back there somehow.” - Slickback
At Kilele 2024 we heard Astrid Bin’s comparison of the musical interfaces (midi controllers etc) with ultra processed food - generic, functional and predictable. This year we are diving into instrument creation from another direction. What can instrument builders learn from local creators, and what forms of hybridity are possible and desirable in the instruments of the future?
Over the past decades community as a concept has been drained of its meaning, co-opted by corporations, governments, state institutions. In our own context around the industry of culture, we paradoxically see the emergence of true social communities that share values, connections, and ways of living, and the unseemly competition for resources, opportunities and recognition.
At Kilele we welcome Sound Communities from outside the mainstream - local, regional and global - to participate, collaborate, and share their passions, seeking new ways to reject polarization and foster understanding.
PERFORMERS
(click the images to step through the aritsts’ bios / socials)
and more to be announced.
Panels, presentations and workshops by:
Mina
Sam Achola / Usanii
Adam Yawe
Mashariki Vibes
Afrikaan Kodo
Tech Workshops:
FL Studio
Focusrite / Novation
Focusrite / Novation
Ableton
ADAM Audio
ADAM Audio
Elektron
Orchestral Tools
Orchestral Tools
Instrument Makers Lab
This year we are delighted to debut the Instrument Makers Lab - for the duration of the Summit
we’ll have a space dedicated to the creation of instruments - building, crafting, coding,
programming and recycling - anything goes. We can’t wait to hear what comes out of this,
and will be presenting as much as possible during Kilele week.
Curators
Over 50% of the Kilele programme is sourced by you, our community.
We received scores of proposals and pitches from around the world,
from which a mix of talks, performances, panels and installations were selected.
The full programme will be out in January.
The programme is curated by a collective of artists and cultural practitioners, including;
Nyokabi Kariũki
[ᴍᴏɴʀʜᴇᴀ]
Bernt Isak WærstadSanturi Culture
Collaborators:
The Clearing w/ Bizi Bingi, TCHNO, BYT, COSMOS / Le Guess Who?, Kibera Creative Arts (Kica), Mathare Social Justice Center, Creatives Garage, C&, The Mist, Petriole, Unseen Nairobi, and many more!
Live streaming and sound art from around the festival by Calotropis
Tickets on sale now!
Contact:
kilele@santuri.org