Folk Fusion Wanderlust Ed.

African music has always been in my scene. Growing up listening to Papa Wemba, Lady Jay Dee, Awilo Agomba, Angélique Kidjo, Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba and many many many more. The tunes when music generated the sounds we still listen to now in rock, techno, afro beats and even jazz. My parents always plugged us with the greatest sound collection. As we continue to celebrate Afro-Folk sounds and how the sounds of the past have inspired our generation today; 

During the first week of December 2023 in collaboration with Jangwani Camp, we worked towards hosting the first Folk Fusion Festival, Wanderlust edition. Where local, now, music came alive. Together with the Folk Fusion team and their sponsors we met to ensure all aspects of the 3 day festival were considered. This was the first time I had been responsible for such an experience and I can tell you, we did not disappoint. The vibes were immaculate at heart with our ancestors in Kirinyaga area. Reflecting back on those days is making me feel very emotional. I am reminiscing on the moment when I was peacefully seated with SW the Dj, and we both look back as Leah walks in with her family of traditional Kikuyu elder dancers dressed in traditional wear. Even though Leah was away on vacation she was able to pull through for this historical moment. Me greeting our ancestors with what I know of in Kikuyu and welcoming the dancers to the magical space where they will be performing in front of a crowd who may have never knew the Mwomboko dance existed or that the dance is still being practiced today. Leah hosts our Kikuyu historical preservation centre near Makutano where you can find traditional; wear, dance, artefacts, games, and more. A space where bits of the Kikuyu history is still preserved. Their performance was a show stopper and a blessing! 

The msene, gossips, that kept arising during the time of planning and arranging was; will people pull through? If not, why not? What is Folk Fusion? & I heard many people share their surprise that there would even be Mugithi. Folk Fusion events are usually taken place in the big city. The second Folk Fusion event did take place in Jangwani in 2020 and it was a big hit. I believe there was an event before hosted at Jangwani that was named the Full Moon party where Ayrosh performed his Kikuyu hits acoustically. Either way the event and need for folk music has grown immensely over time. The first Folk Fusion event we went to in 2022 was in the back yard of someones garden, so homey and cosy. That's where I was first introduced to Ayrosh, DJ Mura, and Chaxy! & that evening my favourite artist to hear was Emma Cheruto she truly delivered a performance! 

Neverthemore, The Wanderlust edition was taken place close to a very small town my family calls home also known as Sagana. I was really hoping that people in the area would pull up as they usually do to Karaoke Fridays. Although the behind the scene’s conversation that kept disappointing me was that the tickets were too expensive. Even though buying tickets to an event can seem overrated the process behind is why! Invest in your fellow artists when you can! Music is free on so many platforms and artists aren’t even being paid for most of their production. Taking is always easier than the act of giving. Through the process I knew that our people of Sagana, Murang’a and Mwea were definitely going to be curious. Who wouldn’t be with such a fire line up at the most magical destination in Kenya. I knew that if people were not going to be at the event that they would be enjoying the experience from the sky view lounge. Honestly I would’ve done the same!  

(Rough overview of event that I designed on my ipad!)

The Event

On Friday we hosted Mugithi (traditional Kikuyu music) which honestly was one of my favorite nights. We danced with Salim Young and Dj Dibul, enjoyed fresh Muratina, Kikuyu beer. Mugithi to me always reminds me of Ushago, playing in the background on the radio as the chickens continued to wake us up bright and early. Who else thought that jogoo’s cookudoo’ed every hour from 6am to wake up everyone to go to work and school? Nowadays Mugithi is being played at clubs as a ‘if you know, you know’ moment of the night. I also feel so much joy watching people dance along embodying uncle na anti vibes. Either way, the turn out was quite low, I did not see that coming, lakini, we enjoyed, we danced and on top of that the Karaoke Friday hosted by Jacky, at Porini Sky Lounge was packed, not as usual. Which made me understand that we knew great things were happening, the leap towards investing will be different next time. 

Saturday was the night everyone had been waiting for! Yaba, Phy, Ayrosh, Mutoriah and Jukebox Band pulled through!!! Tunes by Dj Mura!!! Hosted by Chaxy!!! That day was intense for me as there was going to be many people so I was feeling nervous and excited! Was there going to be enough parking space? Will everyone find their way? Will there be enough place to sleep? Will everyone feel safe to be who they are?

That beautiful afternoon sound check was in place, the market stalls were being set up and there was even a stand with unique dogs breeds lol. I did not see that coming. 

The beautiful sunny day went by, people entered so stylish, with so much energy and if I had one of those step counter, watch thingies, I think it would’ve exploded. However, alongside water and later some Jamba juice, I was alert and ready for anything. A moment I feel most proud of that day which I had not expected was pulling through in sound management. The sound was imbalanced, the speakers couldn’t hold the sound of the mic’s at the level we needed so we had to add extra speakers to ensure that we could hear both the music and the mic waves. That was a new experience for me and took a lot of convincing and encouraging team work.

Guest artists all the way from Uganda Joshua Baraka and our heat creator Mr. Charisma were welcomed to the stage and delivered fiya! Eventually the moment many of us were waiting for was when Grammy Award Winning, Bensoul entered. Sudah! I was lucky to welcome him to the artist tent and he eventually even wanted to stay the night with us! The sound was great, the vibes were awesome and I will never forget the amount of joy we all experienced! We danced the night away & to close the night SW ended the with the greatest hits of our time! 

(its a mans world???)

Shero's Debut

Now Sunday was a big day for Dj Shero also known as the person writing this right now. Electronic music, aka Oonz, has a special place in my heart. Even though this was not the first time I performed on stage the sound selection did make it feel like so. House music for me has been a journey and through discovering Africans, alongside Mi Casa, producing house tracks, changed my world. In addition, those of you who know, know that I have been pushing through South African’s Amapiano beats in Sagana while receiving uncertain, judgmental and curious feedback. During the meeting Ayrosh mentioned I could perform and I was shocked! I felt so excited, scared and started planning an Amapiano set for Sunday morning while our guests would be waking up. That was my initial vision. Little did I know that I would be on a line up with the craziest artists in the East Africa’s scene today! I didn’t know DJ IV however WOW! Euggy I had seen live alongside Suraj, founders of Gondwana KE one of my favorite events in Kenya. So when I saw my name alongside Euggy & Suraj, I couldn’t believe it. That day was magic for me, my grandma pulled through, cucu my name, Florence Wanjiru! Niwega Ngai!

ONE; Kayrop delivered an Amapiano set as a guest DJ & I was happy to hear Amapiano vibes played by a Kenyan producer, I felt a little less weird and inspired! TWO: I delivered an amazing Afro House/Tech sunset set, the playlist was about my journey arriving in Nairobi months prior to this moment, for the first time I felt heard. THREE: Queen DJ IV, Euggy & Suraj were playing on the same stage. Oh my days! House music is sacred! Forever grateful! 

I left earlier but I heard the night continued till late and many people joined the scene!

"I" am my worst enemy & hardest suppressor

All in all, the weekend was a great success, beautiful people, safe and welcoming environment. Thank you to everyone who showed up and thank you to the Folk Fusion team for the awesome collaboration! I want to give a special shout out to Kuria Ngarega (director of Jangwani Camp) for guiding me and trusting me throughout this process. To Lillian Mugo and Eric Owori for the fantastic teamwork, I truly enjoyed working with you in managing the flow of the space, meeting sponsors and setting up accommodations & meals. I also want to give a shout out to Ayrosh and Uncle Simon, who showed up at meetings with ambition and trusted us with the process on the grounds, true superstars! Gang gang! 

P.S. The one true queen, Devine feminine being, who I had missed seeing during those days was Kiarie Afrika! I hope to see you there next time! 

Wan Love <3