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 (anf global) music. We bring everyone from international music brands to underground collectives together, and celebrate music and culture in an open and inclusive space. 

 
Tickets on sale now! 

When and where is it happening?

What’s On?

 
 

New for ‘25

We are grouping our programme into distinct thematic areas, which are namely;

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.

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

Live streaming and sound art from around the festival by Calotropis

Tickets on sale now!

Contact:

kilele@santuri.org