Artists To Watch: Nabalayo
“When I was a child, I wanted to be famous, that was my career goal. I didn't know what I was gonna do to be famous, but that's what I wanted for myself.” On a mission to expand her reach beyond her city of Nairobi, Nabalayo is shaking things up with her eclectic sonic stylings and diverse musical knowledge. Nabalayo describes herself as a music-maker, illustrator and East African Griot, representing and documenting not only her own culture, but also those of her fellow countrymen. Nabalayo derives inspiration from the many tribes and peoples of her country Kenya. From the Giriama, to the Luhya, Nabalayo desires so strongly to preserve and bookmark her people’s history in her work, and will always push for an exchange of ideas amongst artists from differing backgrounds. Early on in her career, Nabalayo decided to put a focus around her art and its values. She set goals for herself and her practice, ideas that would forever push her outside of her comfort zone and would allow her to make music she genuinely enjoyed.
Nabalayo began her creative journey at a young age, singing as early as she could make sound and drawing as soon as she could hold the pencil. Her family’s artistic inclination meant her passions were never stifled. Nabalayo found a supportive base at home. She began playing the piano at just 8 years old and quickly found a comfortable place on the stage. She knew she was destined for big things, and quickly began exploring every avenue to get there.
Guided by her disciplined nature Nabalayo, has been diligent in pursuing her art with excellence. Placing goals and values around her work that lead her forward. “Two years ago, I specifically chose my artistic values. It was about looking at what I had already been doing, what made me feel good in my artistic practice,’she elucidates. “And currently my artistic values are cultural exchange, archiving and storytelling.” Nabalayo’s musical practice is characterised by these three tenets. The ability to storytell and connect with her audience, as well as exchange ideas with the many cultures from which she finds inspiration are important in her ability to keep her musical spirit alive and build her creative world. Her desire to document her processes and archive her communication between tribes and cultures, means that not only will her work live on far after her, but generations to come benefit from the expertise she leaves behind.
Nabalayo has a penchant for the experimental. Like most creatives she has explored, conquered and failed at many creative endeavours. From acting and modelling, to illustration and dance, Nabalayo has never restricted her opportunity to try new things. This in turn extended to the music she would go on to create. Never limiting the parameters of her music, Nabalayo is like a scientist with her sound. Constantly experimenting and hypothesising around the new ways she can shape the music she makes. Nabalayo has a strong sense of the kind of music she would like to hear from herself. Having been classically trained and received a bachelor's degree in music education, Nabalayo is extremely intelligent about her music. Her lyrical composition and production landscapes tell of someone who knows what they’re talking about.
Nabalayo's educational background effects an extensive knowledge of the world’s more mainstream way of building sounds and writing lyrics. But the university's narrow mindsets and rigid academic environment left Nabalayo uninspired and dejected. She wanted to make music that made her jazz enthusiast professors shake their heads disapprovingly and she enjoyed testing her limits. She was clamouring at the chance to make boundary pushing music that made the old-heads think twice. “And when I started writing songs, I’d do it in such a way that someone who's trained would be like, “No, that's wrong. That's weird. You shouldn't be doing this in this place.” And the funny thing is the same people who are very educated and very technical about the things, would listen to the music that I made and feel like, “Wow, this is so profound.” Her studies did yield fruit, in that they gave Nabalayo the chance to expand her knowledge of the African music space. “I was really moved by the history of different music practices in different parts of Africa, including Kenya. And I felt like since I'm already drawn to this type of music, I can do something about it, in terms of preservation or inspiring people to do more research or to be more appreciative of these different kinds of traditional sounds and what they stand for.” Nabalayo not only creates but is leaving a legacy for the music she is creating.
Having followed an initial prompt in university to create a genre from which she could hypothetically create music, Nabalayo is the proud pioneer of the Changanya genre of East African music. Changanya, which means to “mix” in Kiswahili, is a genre defined by its versatility. Nabalayo herself describes her music as “ethereal, combining light airy vocals with complex African idioms and heavy electronic sounds to give her listeners an experience that is out of this world.” Changanya is a direct response to the continent’s lost history. Nabalayo felt a disconnect from her country and the music history of her land. She wanted to be able to emulate those sounds of the past as well as document and archive to in some ways bring restitution to the land. “It was really important for this genre I was making to pay homage to folk music, and music in Africa. But at the same time, to honour who I am, in this day and age this, the other stuff that defines me as a musician and as a creative person. “
Pioneering one’s own genre is no small feet. The culture has to be willing to follow you. So thinking tactically, Nabalayo called on her artist friends, people she knew would back her efforts to get Changanya off the ground. The likes of notable Kenyan producers KMRU, and Hendrick Sam, both strongly championed Nabalayo’s vision. Over the last 2 years Nabalayo has been consistent, frequently blessing her fans with new music. New songs that explore life, love, hope, and pain all channelling the very easily identifiable Nabalayo essence. The spirit of Changanya is strong in her debut album of the same name. 10 tracks that perfectly highlight Nabalayo’s journey and showcase her bright musical future. Using an array of her own foley recordings, Nabalayo’s music is unique and filled with life. She incorporates real life instrumentation from her large Kisii Obokano, (a traditional bass bowl lyre), to the sound of a banging pot she recorded from her bedroom. Her use of electronic sounds, brings her music into the modern and demonstrates the importance of creating music that is relevant to today’s audience. Nabalayo’s bold exploration in music is refreshing.
Nabalayo recently released a second full length album “IPO”. An album inspired by the people who for one reason or another were not able to connect with their cultural heritage. People who existed outside of their lands and stories. Nabalayo hoped to encapsulate the feelings of creating your own roots, settling within yourself based on the elements of your history you can reach and building your own story around it. “IPO” is a fascinating 8 track album that once again highlights and showcases the importance of diversity within our African musical landscapes. Nabalayo encourages getting weird, and not being afraid to try new things and for that she is someone to look out for.
Find Nabalayo’s latest album and other amazing works here.
