Watch documentary about Nairobi’s music scene

The documentary offers an inside look at Nairobi’s blossoming music scene through archival live concert footage and the explorations of various creatives based in the city.

As documented in the film, what sets Nairobi’s musical community apart from other East African nations is the lack of a common sound. Nairobi creatives have embraced this situation by encouraging collaborations between musicians from different communities. This has given rise to a variety of experimental styles and collectives such as East African Wave (EA Wave).

“You can now see a lot of music fusion between folk, hip hop and spoken word. There is also a lot of funky and percussive elements,” Kenyan DJ and vocalist Mathew Shallow, popularly known as DJ Laster, says.

The documentary also interviews Kenyan hip hop artist Octopizzo and EDM producer DJ Suraj who talk about some of the challenges experienced by artists in Nairobi.

“The global community and organisations need to also invest on the creative sector as much as they are playing a huge role in offering humanitarian aid,” Octopizzo says.

Nu Nairobi: Inside Nairobi's Music Scene sends out a message that Kenyan creatives are confident now more than ever and see Nairobi as East Africa’s most influential music hub.

The documentary is directed and produced by UK filmmaker Mia Zur-Szpiro for FACT magazine.