Following SA Recordings’ Recompose competition, organized by composer Alev Lenz, the Kenyan artist has released a video for “Fishermen (Sell your dreams).”
Nyokabi Kariũki is a Kenyan composer and singer living between New York, Maryland and Nairobi. She continues to fuse classical and contemporary music, as well as the musical traditions of East Africa. As a classically-trained pianist, she is also self-taught in traditional African instruments, especially the mbira. This artist has also collaborated with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the Men’s Ensemble and the Heartland Center. Her music has been featured at the Out of Africa Film Festival, the Melbourne Fringe Festival and the Lincoln Center.
In November 2020, Nyokabi Kariũki participated in the Recompose contest, which invites musicians to recompose a song from 3, the album of Grammy Award-nominated producer Alev Lenz. The singer distinguished herself among a hundred people from all over the world with “Fishermen (Sell Your Dreams).” Alev Lenz affirms that this woman has a unique voice: “Nyokabi’s work is unforgettable. It is cold and wet. She represents water. Perhaps the threat of the fishermen or the knowledge of the creatures of the ocean? It is not sure, it is a unique voice that opens the way to a new interpretation of music. Dive into the deep end, learn to swim again.”
The video was directed by British animator Prehuman, who has worked with Bombay Bicycle Club, Sinkane, and also Yoko Ono. Along with Alev Lenz, Nyokabi Kariũki also contributed illustrations to the video. This recomposition explores electronic music through the African mbira, an instrument that is known and loved by huge swaths of the world’s population.
Catch Nyokabi Kariũki on our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
