The Santuri Electronic Music Academy supports east African music producers, DJs and sound engineers trying to break into the industry, particularly encouraging female and queer artists
It’s late one Saturday night and the Mall, one of the oldest shopping centres in Nairobi’s Westlands district, is deceptively quiet, a stark contrast to the busy streets outside. But walk down one flight of stairs and the dimly lit basement is teeming with life as bodies pulsate to the heady rhythms of jungle, dancehall, UK funky, and South African gqom and amapiano. The Mist – the kind of underground club where you can catch anything from grime to glitch, and the resident DJ takes to spinning Pharoah Sanders at 4am – is hosting nu.wav, an event organised by recent graduates of Santuri Electronic Music Academy’s DJing 101 programme. Course mates and clubbers surround the decks, dancing and cheering loudly as each person finishes their set.
Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA) is the educational arm of Santuri East Africa, a Nairobi-based platform that supports east African music producers, DJs, sound engineers and other music industry professionals. SEMA runs courses in both music production and DJing, and the focus is placed on creating community and culture as much as it is on technical skills. Students learn how to ethically interact with traditional music, and are encouraged to engage with topics around identity, class and gender. Out of the 150 students that have been trained by SEMA over the past two years, 55% have been non-male, with the balance tipping even further in recent courses.
