Kilele is back for 2025!




In February of this year we kicked off East Africa’s first symposium for music tech and innovation, and we are delighted to officially start the countdown to the next edition. Kilele 2024 saw delegates from over 25 countries exploring topics affecting the music industry regionally and globally, reflected through a progressive, tech-focused lens. We held sold out workshops with music partners like Ableton, Bitwig and FL Studio, deep dives into AI and music, festival round tables, archiving workshops, FEMX panels, stunning installations and a week’s worth of showcases that put adventurous music into the spotlight and inspired hundreds of attendees. Perhaps more than anything, we brought about new connections and opportunities through a very special bond that was formed between everyone who spent time with us that week.


For the second edition, we want to amplify what we have started, and firmly establish Kilele as a key global node on the music summit map - a place where ideas take flight and old, established ideas are questioned.   


So we are back with more workshops, more showcases, more installations, more networking and even more belief that change is necessary and achievable.


What’s On?




We’ll announce partners, events, workshops and everything else in the coming weeks and months. 


When and where is it happening?




February 18th to 22nd 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. SAVE THE DATE. 


As with this year, 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.


I want to be a part of this. How can I submit a proposal?


Do you have an amazing idea for a workshop, panel, installation or showcase?  Are you an artist, academic, technologist or researcher? 


Kilele balances a curation team with open calls for participation, so this is your chance to submit a proposal to feature in the 2025 edition.  Share your ideas here and our programming committee made up of artists and experts will assess the suitability and feasibility of your proposal. In the 2024 edition, 50% of Kilele’s programming came from these submissions.


A reminder that Kilele is focussed on tech and music culture, with a strong affinity for innovation, experimentation and exploration. We are particularly interested in ideas that connect local and folkloric practices and knowledge with new ideas and approaches. Similarly, concepts that reflect on the relationship to our environments - social, political and ecological - are more than welcome! Please review last year's program to get an understanding of the topics we presented, and to spark some ideas for adventurous proposals. 



https://forms.gle/C5isPYj9LEagREyj7



Closing date:  15th October, 2024



If you have questions or want to reach out to a member of the team, hit us up at:


kilele@santuri.org








Kilele 2024





Watch the full Kilele aftermovie here: 







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Reflections on Kilele - East Africa’s first music tech and innovation symposium




Thoughts on the inaugural Kilele Summit, by Santuri co-director David Tinning.



We had the idea to create a conference that wasn’t a conference, and a festival of music and tech that wasn’t a festival.  We landed on Kilele, a 7-day event that combined music tech workshops, cutting-edge presentations on the future of music, avant-garde showcases and installations, and some riotous parties. 



A note on the name - Kilele means summit or peak in Kiswahili, so although we were trying to avoid ‘summit summit’, it has kind of stuck. However, the idea of reaching a point of elevation for which to share a perspective is a nice one, and wholy in keeping with what Kilele proved to be.


Kilele was a product of Santuri East Africa collaborating with the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna's FWF-PEEK project "Études for Live-electronics", and in particular Bernt Isak - a Norwegian artist and educator who has worked on music projects in the region for 8 years. Santuri was turning 10 during the summit, so Kilele served as a marker of the past decade of East Africa’s musical development, and an opportunity to look at what might be ahead.  


Santuri has been at the forefront of progressive music education in the region, establishing the award-winning Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA) in 2021, training over 200 artists in the past two years and connecting many of those to career advancing opportunities - from releases to collaborations and festivals and event opportunities.




Kilele is the last part of the puzzle in many ways - pulling together Santuri’s network of music friends, supporters and global partners to experience Nairobi’s underground creative scene first hand.  It was important for Santuri and the community here that we join the international conversation on music tech and culture - too often Africa is left as an exoticised footnote, with lip service paid to the ‘ingenuity’ and ‘resilience’ of practitioners here, but very little space given as actual pioneers and thought-leaders. To be able to host KMRU, Nyokabi Kariũki, Monrhea, Afrorack and DJ Raph in a variety of different formats at Kilele made a strong statement, and opened up avenues for the next generation of artists to connect with the global networks who joined to experience this.


Presentations and panels brought new perspectives to the fore - Astrid Bin’s ‘It’s Never Just a Slider’ set out to redefine the musical interface from the western classical trappings, and Nyokabi Kariũki’s meditation of electronic music originator Halim El Dabh expounded on how African artists have have been erased from electronic music history, and her own experiences of how global north critics expect an African experimental artist to sound. Other particular standouts included DJ Raph’s ‘It’s Not in the Manual’, and Sharon Onyango-Obbo’s Never’s Conduit - a dream-like audio visual trip through an African music library in Mainz through the eyes of a contemporary Ugandan artist. Elsewhere the Bomas of Kenya shared their SampleBar project - a folkloric preservation project masquerading as musical interface for remixing traditional instruments in real time. 



Workshops by global tech brands Ableton, FL Studio, Bitwig and Elektron were hugely popular, while the presentations and panels brought new perspectives to the fore. 






The event took place at The Mall, in the Westlands area of the city.  The Mall has become the epicentre of Nairobi’s blossoming music scene, thanks to the progressive mentality of its management team who have been supporting creative communities such as Santuri with cheap rents and plenty of spaces to utilise for parties, gatherings and workshops.  Nestled in the corner of the basement across the way from the Santuri Salon is The Mist - Nairobi’s most experimental club space, supporting and pushing the widest of sounds, thanks to DJ Raph and Shamina Rajab’s stewardship.  Kilele fully utilised this and many other of the spaces in the Mall - including the Fem Lab (established by the team from Goethe Institut), Black Rhino’s OUT Reality VR space, and the stunning rooftop car park that was dubbed Basscamp for the duration of the Kilele week - where delegates and artists gathered for sundown each evening to network and ‘prepare’ for the night program.   


Outside of the panels and workshops, it was here where new connections were made, collaborations forged and plots hatched. Soundtracked by various alums from Santuri’s DJ courses, the Basscamp framed the event and set people up for the showcase program that included performances from Afrorack and Feldermelder, vigliosoni, a live coding performance on Sonic Pii by BYTE Collective, as well as performances from coastal ‘zaire’ band Khonjo Kolio, changanya pioneer Nabalayo, and sets by the UK’s Funk Butcher and Kem Kem.  Friday night saw Mizizi Ensemble  - formed specifically for this event - perform in The Mist  - made up of Labdi Ommes, Alex Hofmann, Monrhea, Nyokabi and Bernt Isak with Tim Grund and Kostia Rapoport as special guests. The result was a mesmerising performance that utilised every space in the venue, with the focus shifting every while to another area and new sonic territories - from raw noise to operatic call and response, to wearable body percussion tech. The space was packed with people, the atmosphere veering between tense confusion and elation. An onlooker told me they were leaving immediately to go home and make new music.



 

“I have been to many music conferences, and this was by far the most inspiring and exciting one I've ever attended”. - feedback from speaker


The final showcase featured a killer line-up of KMRU, MC Yallah, Jim Chuchu and ¡AC!, Sonic Griot and the Santuri DJs - all powered by the Umojah Soundsystem - a Kenyan built rig sticking true to the Jamaican sound system culture.  The night encapsulated Santuri at 10 - a blend of experimental approaches, heartfelt expression, and bulldozing bass punctuated by the machine gun delivery of Ugandan/ Kenyan MC Yallah - revelling in a home town gig that saw bouts of slam dancing not usually associated with the Nairobi nightlife.





On a personal note, it was hard not to get emotional about the journey Santuri has been on and to see Kilele as the start of something new and fresh for the region. Working with the amazing team that makes up Santuri, it was extremely gratifying to feel that we contributed something vital to the city, and that as a result artists will find new ways to develop and grow. We are already looking forward to welcoming friends and collaborators back for 2025.

David Tinning, March 2024











Stay connected for 2025 info:

https://www.instagram.com/kilelesummit/
https://santuri.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ab2cd4ce458e0e6c6b07cffde&id=6cd115ee03
























Febuary 12 - 18th 2024, - Nairobi, Kenya




BUY TICKETS





CONFIRMED GUESTS 



And many more! 






Partners & Supporters





Ableton - the leading music tech firm behind Ableton Live and Push

Austrailian High Commission Nairobi - the AHC are supporting the FEMX stream of Kilele, fore-grounding non-male participation in the summit. 

Austrian Science Fund (FWF) - The Austrian Science Fund is the most important Austrian funding organization for basic research. The FWF supports research in science, engineering, and the humanities

Bitwig - Bitwig is an international music software company based in Berlin. The company was founded in 2009 by four music enthusiasts with extensive experience in the music technology industry and a strong vision about new cutting-edge methods of music production, live performance and collaboration.

British Council  - The British Council arts team works with the best of British creative talent to develop innovative, high-quality events and collaborations with artists and cultural institutions around the world.

 Elektron - is a Swedish developer and manufacturer of musical instruments founded in 1998, as well as having its headquarters, R&D and production in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

Goethe-Institut Nairobi- The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global presence.

Image-Line - Makers of the legendary FL Studio, one of the most iconic peices of music software of all time.

Pro Helvetia - The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia supports and promotes Swiss culture in Switzerland and throughout the world

Resident Advisor - The world’s leading ticketing and editorial platform for underground electronic music are partnering with Kilele.



 

















 





It’s here! Our first ever Kilele program is ready for your perusal. You’ll find all the panels, talks, workshops, sundowners and showcases we have confirmed so far, but expect a few other surprises to pop up also.

Happening across various venues within The Mall, home of Santuri East Africa, The Mist and various other cultural hubs, we think there’s something for everyone in this week long extravaganza. You can find more details on each event by following the links below:







Check out the program here:








T




PRACTICAL INFORMATION





About: 


Kilele is a new symposium for East Africa, providing a cutting-edge forum for technology and innovation as it relates to music culture. Spanning a 7-day schedule of workshops, concerts, live performances, networking and presentations, Kilele will bring together the region’s most forward thinking creatives and collectives with global music tech companies, platforms and thought leaders.


Running from February 12th to 18th 2024, this event is the culmination of over a decade of accelerated creative endeavour in the electronic music space of East Africa, and dials in on the role of technology in music innovation, education, and creativity. Kilele will connect artists, DJs, curators, collectives, and venues with key players in the global music space to celebrate the journey so far, and define the path forward.


Stay up to date with Kilele:

︎ @kilelesummit
︎ @KileleSummit









 

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