Rwanda: Young inanga player returns from Germany

"Everything was great. I learnt a lot, I travelled a lot, I went to studios to make music," Munyakazi told a local paper.

This after Goethe-Institut Kigali recommended the young musician to represent Rwanda at the festival, which was held at the Kulturbrauerei venue in Germany’s capital. Munyakazi was joined by artists from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, South Africa, Pakistan, Palestine, Vietnam, Russia and Taiwan.

“Pop-Kultur is a great platform to promote young artists, DJs, and music promoters,” Munyakazi said. “We were there for 10 days, doing workshops, visiting some great places in Berlin like the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum, and we also had a session with different producers in the city.

“I was excited by the reception from the German audience. They liked my inanga music, though it was the first time most were seeing the inanga. They wanted to know more about it."

Pop-Kultur offers a platform for artists from across the globe to create new art by featuring their live music and by taking part in talks, readings, exhibitions and movie screenings. The festival also features DJ sets and experimental music with an emphasis on performance.

The 24-year-old musician also spoke about his ‘Isoko Dusangiye’ single that was released at end of July and has been featured on Voice of America.

“It was an honour to have my song hit the airwaves so fast, and not just locally but also internationally. I want the message in my songs to be heard by everyone, not just Rwandans,” Munyakazi said.

“As a traditional music singer, I try to link the past and today. I have realised that we are losing touch with our tradition. People aren’t interested in sustaining and keeping our culture. Modernity is swallowing up our society. This is possibly why it is rare to find traditional Rwandan music instruments like the inanga, umuduri or ikembe.”

Munyakazi is expected to release a video of his trip to Berlin soon.