DJ duo Gondwana KE to tour Africa and Europe

After more than 50 shows and five years of musical memories, Gondwana KE, founded by Suraj Mandavia and Eugene Onyango, first as an electronic music record label and events collective, has now set its sights on spreading its unique sounds across different cities in Africa.

The tour, which started in Nairobi on 24 July, will now head to Johannesburg (3 August), Durban (4 August) and Addis Ababa (6 August) before returning to the Kenyan coastal town of Watamu (4 September) and the world famous Amboseli National Park (date TBC).

But the journey doesn’t end there, as the outfit is scheduled to go on a European tour that will kick off at EDM mecca Ibiza with shows at Bora Bora and the newly launched Club Chinois. The duo will then play in Vienna and at Berlin’s Watergate club. The European dates will be announced soon.

Gondwana KE was formed in 2016 as a labour of love for DJ and producer Suraj before becoming a permanent fixture in the Kenyan electronic music scene.

“When we started out, we did it understanding that there was not a lot of African representation for electronic music that was being played in Nairobi,” Suraj told DJ Mag last year. “That was the essential necessity for Gondwana. We wanted to create a space where it was possible to play African-inspired electronic music only. Eugene had a very distinct eye and ear for electronic music, which made it a natural collaboration.”

Today, Gondwana KE has earned itself a growing fan base across Africa, especially in South Africa where house music enjoys a big following. Gondwana KE is behind South African house duo Frigid Armadillo’s 2021 single ‘Tukaina’ featuring Kenyan contemporary folk artist Ayrosh.