Flee to release electro compilation with Kenyan acts

Extra Muros – Kenya will be out on 4 September along with a documentary on the daily life and challenges of alternative electronic musicians in Kenya. 

The compilation features music by Kenya’s Karun, Jinku, KMRU and Slikback, as well as Pier Alfeo (Italy), Tite (France) and FlexFab (China). 

The music was produced and recorded at Elephant Studios in Nairobi during the first edition of Flee’s Extra Muros international residency programme for experimental electronic music.

The artists first gathered in Nairobi in September 2019 under the musical direction of Flee founders Olivier Duport, Alan Marzo and Carl Ahnebrink. For three weeks they participated in a deeply collaborative creative process, learning about each other’s musical languages, sharing original compositions, and recording new music. The residency culminated in a series of live performances in the Kenyan cities of Nairobi, Lamu and Mombasa, and at the 2019 edition of Nyege Nyege Festival in Jinja, Uganda.  

"Extra Muros – Kenya reflects the new movements of contemporary electronic music in Kenya,” Duport told Music In Africa. “It is also a very unique moment and process born from our very first artist residency programme. You can tell how the different artists from diverse geographical, cultural and artistic backgrounds blended and immersed themselves in another context, which makes for a unique album.

“It was always our ambition with this project to provoke new sonorities by enabling meetings that would have maybe not occurred otherwise. I know that several of the artists involved also made some new collaborations together, which is always good to hear.”

KMRU said the residency was a well-rounded artistic experience for all the participants. “The compilation stands out in its diverse scope of tracks, and that’s exciting,” he said. "I am satisfied with the outcome of all our works. The whole process of creating the tracks with Pier and Tite was amazing, and I am looking forward to future collaborations and performances with the artists.” 

The artists featured on the compilation are from the label’s current roster, which Duport said would eventually include emerging artists from other countries.

“We hope to build up the capacities of the residency and label to be able to welcome more and more young and off-the-radar musicians and producers who wouldn’t have been allowed such work conditions and experiences otherwise, and to represent a different voice in production,” he said. 

The compilation’s cover art shows some of the landmarks the participants came to know during the residency. The numbers on the cover are GPS coordinates of the exact position of Elephant Studios.

Asked whether a 2020 residency would take place, Duport said: “Things are quite shaky and uncertain, but we’re still optimistic and hoping for a new edition of the programme between October or November. Given the fact that a second wave of the coronavirus is still a reasonable threat, we will be on the lookout to see if this can affect us with the international travel required by the programme.”

Flee’s previous work in Kenya includes Benga Music – A Signature Genre From Kenya and Benga, A Kenyan Kaleidoscope – a book that investigates the future of the benga genre.

Pre-order Extra Muros – Kenya here.