The electronic coup
In the recent times, there’s been a steady rise of house music popularity in Kenya. Among the factors attributed to this phenomenon is the rapidly changing preferences amongst the local music audiences, writes Jasmine Atieno
Jasmine Atieno @sparkleMine
House music (also known as electronic music or EDM) has over the years been regarded as an underground genre in Kenya.
While genres such as hip-hop, R&B and reggae dominate the industry, house music has in the recent years found its foot in the country.
A lot of house DJs in Kenya are collectively making great progress in creating platforms that are popularising the genre.
They include Vidza, Dylan-S, Xan Woods, Max Melesi, Foozak, Euggy, Suraj, LeeM, Fede, Matthew Swollow, Steff Cassini, Barney Brrow, LA Dave, Riz Ibrahim, Donnacia and Imran.
DJ Xan Woods has been in the industry for over 10 years now. His journey in electronic music began while he was a university student in Newcastle, UK, before he came back to Kenya and decided to give it the best.
He has played at some of the biggest concerts including Digital, Cosmic Ballroom, World HQ, The Cut and Kilifi New Year.
“There is so much variety and connectivity in all areas of music in the country. There are talented producers in Kenya who are creating unique and exciting music.
They are tapping into the amazing variety of sounds that Kenya has to offer, from the traditional/tribal voices to the vibrant sounds of nature.
The possibilities of the combination of original electronic music with the organic sounds of Kenya is what I find the most exciting about working in the music scene here; there’s so much potential,” he tells Spice.
He adds, “In terms of the reception, people in Kenya are ready. The audience is really growing, thanks to events such as Kilifi New Year and venues such as Muse, Alchemist, Beneath the Baobabs and Secret Shambas. Audiences now have more choice of places to go.”
Foozak, also a co-founder of Ewaso Records, draws his inspiration from his surroundings, allowing him to fuse the indigenous vocals and instruments of Kenya with electronic music. 
“It has never been easy, but we always strive to push the cause as much as possible to provide our audiences with the best possible experience.
I have seen the Kenyan electronic music industry grow from just a few DJs to many talented individuals.
I truly believe the growth is exponential as more of us strive to produce music that portrays our own Kenyan electronic sound.
Globally, the Afro house scene has been able to shine a light on Africa and its artistes.
I believe our Kenyan labels can provide a platform for our industry to showcase our sounds and vibes to the rest of the world,” shares Foozak.
Difference in sound
Suraj is one of the best electronic music DJs in Kenya. He has been on the act for close to eight years.
He has performed at some of the biggest concerts in the world including; RedBull Afro House Festival in Angola, La.Sunay in Ivory Coast, Kenya Nights and Kilifi New Year Festival.
“I was always naturally drawn towards electronic music as it sounds different and modern compared to a lot of the music I was used to growing up. EDM was my introduction to a huge variety of different music genres.
From trance, house and techno, ambient and chill out and so much more in between. The ability for electronic music to be a format that you can develop any idea onto inspired me.
If you take a look at electronic music now, there are so many sub-genres and so many talented individuals perfecting their different signatures of sounds, which has also always resonated with me,” he shares.
He believes that the electronic music scene in Kenya is probably at its most active stage at the moment.
“We are slowly creating our own identity and consistently raising the bar and its standards while at it.
In five years’ time, I hope to see many more talented artistes creating more original music, key players and brands getting more involved with the scene and more collaborations from all of us,” says Suraj.
According to Dylan-S, the last five years have seen the local house scenes grow in leaps and bounds.
“The electronic music scene has been constantly changing over the last 10 years. However, it is in the last five years that we have seen it evolve more than ever. People have discovered their niche.
Instead of blasting big room EDM to 3,000 people, we have more frequent intimate events that tailor to one or two kinds of electronic music sub-genres, gatherings of 500 to 1,000 people, make it a more intimate affair.
DJs and producers have really put Kenya on the map. A lot of people and organisations are also making an impact on the Kenyan scene. I see it only getting bigger and better,” he says.
Deejay Vidza is setting the pace for female deejays in the country. She has been in the industry for about six years and played alongside some of the world’s best including South Africa’s Prince Kaybee, Black Motion and Da Capo.
The first time Sun El Musician came to Kenya and played at Gondwana in April 2019, Vidza played right after him.
Sun was so impressed by Vidza’s sound that he requested for her back-to-back performance.
“I always knew I would end up in the music industry, but was never really set on music production or deejaying.
Going to events such as Earthdance peaked my interest more and more in becoming a DJ/producer.
I have always enjoyed playing and listening to all genres of music. At one point I thought I would pursue a career as a film music composer, but as I started dabbling with production, house music seemed to be the right fit for me and came to me naturally,” she intimates.
Being a girl in a male dominated industry has had its share of challenges, but at the same time Vidza feels lucky to have worked with and have supportive people around her who appreciate her talent and passion.
This includes being recognised by Black Coffee (a South African DJ, record producer, singer and songwriter) and being added to his Spotify playlist, which was a great boost to her debut EP, Kingdom, which was released in November 2020.
“House and electronic music is still somewhat underground in Kenya, but its popularity has increased in the recent times. More people are interested in not just the events, but also the DJs,” she adds.
Content availability
Saint Evo has contributed hugely to the scenes even more as a producer. For the past couple of years he has been more on production than deejaying.
He believes the creation of content is key in the growth of a scene, especially since the Afro house scene in Kenya is still at an embryonic stage.
Towards this, he has more than 100 Afro house tracks that he has produced.
He has also played at Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, Bayimba Festival in Uganda, Rift Valley Festival and Wilder Festival in Naivasha among others.
This April, if all goes as planned, he will be playing alongside South African duo Prince Kaybee and Black Coffee in Nairobi.
He will also be playing at the Kindred Soul Weekender Festival in London in September alongside the likes of MoBlack, Hyenah and Caiiro.
“I have been producing music since 2007. I’ve always been a musical fellow, but it all became a serious enterprise for me when I travelled to South Africa for my studies.
There, I encountered house music and I was mesmerised. Within a year, I had dropped out of university where I was studying business administration and focused my energies towards perfecting the art of music production, and deejaying followed suit.
My first gig was at The Big Chill student pub at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and from that day I never looked back.
Fast forward to 2011 when I came back home and immediately I made the decision to enrol at Homeboyz Music Technology Academy.
The rationale behind this move was that, I needed to educate myself on the technical aspect of sound engineering and music production.
I graduated with a distinction and thus my musical journey was legitimately on course,” he says.
DJ Euggy concurs with his peers that house music is steadily becoming a major feature in the Kenyan music sphere.
He says: “Seeing other DJs and artistes build careers and brands from house music inspires me even more.
When it started, we basically replicated what we saw from outside in terms of musicality and quality.
The culture had no local influence and it was detached from the people here. But when the homegrown artistes and creatives got a hold of the sound, they have managed to own it and make it more appealing to the locals.
It’s steadily growing and in the next five years, I see a lot of Kenyan artistes touring the world showcasing our East African vibes.”
