Nyege Nyege
After quite a scare, this year's MTN Nyege Nyege festival in Jinja, Uganda is now in full effect. In a letter addressed to the East African country's Minister of Internal Affairs and the Inspector General of Police earlier this week, the Ugandan Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Rev Fr Simon Lokodo, had asked that the festival be stopped "over claims of promoting homosexuality":
"I have received credible information from Religious Leaders, Opinion Leaders, and Local Authorities that the purpose of this festival, in the last two years, has been compromised, to accommodate the celebration and recruitment of young people into homosexuality, and LGBT movement," a section of the letter reads.
While it seemed as though the festival would actually be cancelled and numerous fans took to social media to voice their surprise and concern, the minister's motion found low support and Mr Lokodo was finally urged to admit defeat:
“I tried my best to block it (Nyege Nyege), but the devil has a strong hand. I had to backtrack,” the minister said and added: “The first day (on Tuesday) I announced that it (the festival) won’t happen, but yesterday (Wednesday) because of pressure from all sides, my elders and even my own boss, I had to concede defeat.”
Earlier this year, the festival organisers had announced, that Nyege Nyege was going to add 3 letters to its name. MTN, "Uganda's biggest telecommunication company", came on board as sponsors of this year's event. The festival is currently in its fourth year. What started as a small rained-out gathering in 2015 with around 800 people, has now turned into a highly significant festival for music and culture in East Africa, which is expected to draw 8,000 people this year:
"Made possible by the tireless efforts of volunteers and artists [...] Nyege Nyege has built an identity true to the underground, promoting values such as freedom of expression, respect, curiosity and pride in our culture while maintaining openness to diversity and the world at large, something Uganda has become known for throughout the world," a statement by the organizers reads.
Nyege Nyege seems to be in full swing now and this year's lineup should make for an amazing musical experience. Luckily, this so-called devil has once again prevailed.
More posts
More Habibi Funk
About time, we thought to ourselves, when we saw a brand new Habibi Funk mix pop up in our timeline. And apparently, so did Jannis Stürtz, the Berlin-based label founder and avid digger, who also happens to run the Jakarta Records imprint:
"I realized last weekend that I had not done a mix since early 2017 and it was about time to bring the series back. So here is Habibi Funk Mix 008 with a selection of vinyl and tapes which were originally released in the [...]
Kasahwa
"I am a rebel," smiles the 70-year-old Zimbabwean legend Stella Chiweshe, a breath-taking artist and performer also known as "The Queen of Mbira". Having spent her childhood surrounded by American Rock’n’Roll and Country by artists the likes of Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jim Reeves, and The Everly Brother, she at first showed little interest in local traditional music. That is until she took a liking to the Mbira, "an instrument consisting of 22 to 28 [...]
Malphino
This summer season may be coming to a close, but there should always be time for another visit to Malphino. Said destination is "an imaginative tropical island", inhabited by a mystical band of outer-nationals from London, who have dreamt up their own musical "promised land of hypnotic cumbia rhythms, subtle digital warbling, accordion textures, voodoo vapours and woodblock charm".
In May the eponymous London collective of musicians and visual artists released [...]
El Niño
Ooh wee! What have we here? Back in June, the up-and-coming French afro-soul duo DjeuhDjoah & Lieutenant Nicholson released a piping hot limited edition 7" single on Paris-based Hot Casa Records, previewing their forthcoming sophomore album "Aimez ces airs".
The A-side features "El Niño", a funktastic afro-beat infused groover dealing with climate change, which is bound to set international dancefloors alight. On the flip side listeners will find a track [...]
Victoria Hanna – The Album
Today marks release day for a very special artist, who just recently joined the Greedy family. Victoria Hanna is nothing short of a phenomenon, a painter in sound and a master of language. As she explores the boundaries of the human voices, moving between ancient music and contemporary beats, between philosophical and religious texts, her compositions are shaped by diverse vocal techniques, both sung and spoken.
Her self-entitled debut album then speaks [...]
Out Of Nations
In a world without borders, humanity comes before nationality. Such is the founding sentiment and raison d'être of the Berlin-based Out Of Nations collective, a message the seven-piece wishes to spread through its music. "Out Of Nations is a dream for a future world, where people take each other as humans before they see each other as members of a certain nation," the band's bio reads.
Inspired by the global repercussions of the Arab Spring, including a [...]
Quebra Cabeça
What a coincidence! So yesterday we walk by the Bixiga 70 poster in our office from their Berlin performance at YAAM in June, 2016. And we wonder if it wouldn't be about time for a new album. We visit their Twitter page, don't see any apparent news and move on to the next artist on our list. Then today, while browsing our timeline, we discover a post by Glitterbeat Records, announcing the collective's upcoming fourth album, to be released on October [...]
Black Noise 2084
Though rooted firmly in organic sounds and archaic rhythms, many of DJ Khalab's mind-warping productions have a futuristic feel to them. You might feel the urge to call it afro-futurism or future base or even jazz. Or how about "Black Noise 2084"? That should fit quite well.
"Black Noise 2084" is the title to Khalab's stupendous new album. Born Raffaele Constantino, a "renowned Italian radio host, producer, writer and artistic director", he decided to take on [...]
A.E.I.O.U.
While picking up another batch of records recently, we happened to grab a copy of legendary Brazilian singer Roberto "Di Melo" Santos' dangerously catchy new single "A.E.I.O.U". Recorded in collaboration with French jazz pianist Florian Pellissier and his able combo Cotonete during a tour to Brasil, "A.E.I.O.U" drops fourty years after Di Melo unveiled his classic self-entitled samba/soul LP.
“We had a few days off in Sao Paulo and I really hoped to make a [...]
Afrodyssey Orchestra
On a recent visit to Berlin's FreakOuternational Vinyl Market (which featured a live performance by Ghana's Guy One), we reached the stand of Sergi Roig and his independent label Altercat Records. While sifting through the crates, one particular record caught our attention with its gorgeously patterned, die-cut artwork and elegant foldout sleeve.
This record was Athens-based Afrodyssey Orchestra's latest album "In the Land of Aou Tila" and, just like its cover, [...]
Pour Une Poignée De Dinars
Aälma Dili are a charismatic four-piece from the Eastern Parisian suburbs of Montreuil, who've made a name for themselves with their energetic brand of "Balkan Power Western". We first covered them almost three years ago to the day, when they released their spirited track "Kenaro Narvalo" off their sophomore album "Fush Fush". Late last year (2017) they dropped the latter’s follow-up "Pour Une Poignée De Dinars" (For a Handful of Dinars) and are currently [...]
Moulay Ahmed El Hassani
Once again digging deep into its musical treasure trove is Brighton imprint Hive Mind Records, who, after posthumously releasing a stunning vinyl ode to the late Morrocan singer and guimbri master Maalem Mahmoud Gania, now return with a 30-minute cassette tribute to fellow Moroccan legend Moulay Ahmed El Hassani.
Originally hailing from Béni-Mellal in the mid-Atlas, El Hassani went on to release more than 50 albums over the past 30 years. A master of the [...]