Kasiva Mutua: I think I cried at US percussion fest

The festival provides an environment where percussionists, dancers, and music lovers gather to explore, create and innovate. The event was held in Asheville, North Carolina, from Monday 25 June to Sunday 1 July. The intensive schedule included workshops, informal solo performances and sound meditation at Odyssey Community School. Some of the workshops that the participants took part in were titled World Percussion for Emerging Drummers and World Percussion for Intermediate/Advanced Drummers. The venue also had an open collaboration room for participants to get together, jam and share ideas.

“It really was a space where people from all skill levels and traditions gathered to learn, teach, explore, innovate and build the community," Mutua told Music in Africa. "This year’s theme was Celebrating Women in Rhythm. It honoured powerful female percussionists from around the world who led masterclasses. We collaborated on new material and performed to a sold-out crowd last Friday at the Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville."

The Nairobi-based percussionist has worked extensively to elevate African woman in music. Her exuberant performances reflect a panoply of influences, including Afrobeat, zouk, samba, reggae and soul. Mutua is a member of the internationally touring East African music collective The Nile Project and has served as a fellow of the US State Department’s International Music Exchange Project. In 2017, she was named a Global TED Fellow. She now tours the world as a solo artist and collaborator with top musicians in various genres.

“I got the booking through one of the women working here at the Asheville Percussion Festival who saw me a couple of years ago with The Nile Project. At the time we had our residency at the University of North Carolina and we would give workshops on percussion, which I would lead from time to time. She also came for our concert and instantly fell in love with my playing. When they wanted to focus on women in rhythm this year, she remembered me, forwarded my name and I gladly accepted the invite.

“The women I played with are such skilled musicians. I still can’t believe that I got to share a week of drumming and interaction with them. Jessie Lehman and Monette Marino picked up instruments that are not in their own cultures and owned them. They studied their instruments and the cultures they come from with such intensity, and honoured those traditions in their playing. They are beasts on the djembe, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Mutua says although the whole week in Asheville had been an eye-opening experience, Friday's concert was the main highlight. She says the workshops and collaborations all came together at the concert where a live audience got to experience a fusion of percussive sounds and styles. Other percussionists at the festival included Raquy Danziger, Naghmeh Farahmand, Lisette Santiago, Megan Sprague, Abby the Spoon Lady, Bonnie Whiting, Alli Marshall, Aparna Keshaviah, Aparna Keshaviah, Hope Medford, Brandi Mizilca and River Guerguerian.

“This was my first time performing with an all-female master percussion ensemble," Mutua said. "I consider myself very, very lucky. There was a lot of joy and love on that stage. You could see honest expressions from the players and that to me is what music should be about. I think I cried at some point. I was overwhelmed by emotion.

“Monette later admitted to me that she had waited for more than 40 years to play with an all-women ensemble. We made history. I’m really grateful to Asheville Percussion Festival for giving me this opportunity. I’ll be back in Kenya in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to share my experiences with my fellow percussionists, especially Motra, the only all-female percussion group in Nairobi.”