In a house tucked away in Nanyuki, a group of Kenyan artistes disappeared around Covid time for two weeks with little more than instruments, conversations, questions and imagination. What emerged from that residency was not just an eight-track project, but a meditation on Kenyan identity, sound and belonging — a sonic experiment shaped by friendship, grief, nostalgia and the restless search for what contemporary Kenyan music can become.
The residency brought together an eclectic cast of collaborators: producer and artist Blinky Bill and Muthoni Drummer Queen, musician and writer Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, alongside Leon “Manchild” Omondi (the founder of Debe), Dillie, Lisa, Musa Omusi and several others. They lived together, created together and the result was an 8-track album, Now It’s Experience Talking, which they released late last month.
