Nairobi Festival of Performance and Media Arts gets underway

The concert is one of the many musical performances that are being held at various venues across the city as part of the Nairobi Festival of Performance and Media Arts (NFPMA). Curated by Kenyan contemporary dancer Kebaya Moturi, the NFPMA is a cross-genre platform that seeks to bring together artists, students and communities to showcase their talent through arts, culture and digital media in conventional and public spaces. Now in its second edition, the festival kicked off on Monday 9 November and will draw to a close on Sunday 15 November. Besides music, the festival shall also stage live contemporary dance and workshops for dancers.

While Idd’s musical style is reminiscent of Lokua Kanza, Youssou N’Dour and Ismael Lo all rolled into one, Gregg Tendwa will leave fans of the Benga genre reliving the good old days.

Tendwa is the man behind the WiBO Culture movement, an experimental, evolving art initiative that envisions an open and connected global community through culture and the creative arts. In music, he is a DJ, producer and remixer who brings an 'Afrolectic' aesthetic to his work. His choice of music can be described as Afro-centric, blended with a layer of percussive sounds from the diversity of African instrumentation. His selection often ranges from Afro-house to Afro-funk, Afro-jazz to Afro-soul, as well as Afrobeat, Highlife and whatever other experimental music formats appeal to him.

Idd’s upcoming performance will offer a fresh perspective on Kenyan urban music. His single ‘Come Dada’, released in December 2014, was deemed a breath of fresh air on the Kenyan scene. Idd started singing professionally at the age of 15. He was a performer at the Kenya National Theatre in the late 1990s before he relocated to Norway, where he lived until early 2014. Having travelled the world for concerts and festivals, Idd understands that a great way to uplift society is through quality, conscious music. He is of the opinion that real artists do not have struggles; instead he says they take their time to research and create music that will get people to listen. As a singer and songwriter, Aziz has worked with some well-known writers including Henning Siumaro and the Trondheim Orchestra.

For more details visit the NFPMA Facebook page or the Goethe-Institut website.