Kampire On Her Artistic Journey, and Perspective on Uganda and Africa’s Sonic Landscape
The colorful Kampire Bahana stumbled into DJing in 2015 whilst working with Nyege Nyege - a Ugandan collective, music label, and festival that is the lifeblood of East Africa’s alternative electronic music scene. One fateful day, her friend and Nyege Nyege co-founder Derek Debru encouraged her to DJ one of the collective's renowned Kampala parties. Having no experience and unable to transition, she simply played each track in sequence and hoped for the best. Much to her surprise, the crowd’s response was unanimously positive. Five years later, she has flourished into one of Uganda’s most compelling creative exports, garnering international acclaim her electrifying sets that combine newfangled rhythms from across the African diaspora; gqom, singeli, soukous, baile funk, and genres yet to be defined. She has toured across Europe, Asia, and North America and released guest mixes for luminary institutions like Boiler Room, FACT Magazine, and Resident Advisor.
Photo Credits: Darlyne Komukama
A lifelong music-lover and avid party-goer, it wasn’t until Kampire’s whirlwind of a career that she came to “understand just how vital [clubs and parties] are to a community” and “how important they are spiritually to young people everywhere.” Back home, she is an active player in Kampala’s burgeoning underground club scene that centers alternative home-grown dance genres over the Afrobeats, Dancehall, and American pop that typifies the city’s mainstream nightlife. Her work with Nyege Nyege and Femme Electronic planning events and running DJ workshops has held open doors and cultivated safe spaces for women and queer folk in Uganda’s entertainment space. At a time when African creativity is ripe for western appropriation and drastically policed within African countries, Kampire’s work on and off-stage is driven by a desire to empower African artists to determine global representations of their own music while fostering inclusive creative communities at home.
I was delighted to interview the young tastemaker to learn more about her artistic journey and perspective on Uganda and Africa’s sonic landscape.
Is there a story behind your stage name?
There's no story really as it's also my first name. If it represents anything it's that I never planned to become a professional DJ. I got into it accidentally and just kept going
How long did you live in Zambia? Did those years yield a lasting effect on you or your work?
I lived in Zambia from 2 to 18 so my whole childhood. It's funny to look back now when we have soundcloud and spotify and bandcamp because in the 80s and 90s you only had a few sources for new music. One radio DJ could define an entire nation’s playlist. So I find that the music my Ugandan peers grew up listening to is a little different from what I heard as a child. I have a lot of affection for South African Kwaito and House thanks to my southern african childhood. Of course some things are the same across the continent, it seems we all grew up being paid to dance to Lingala/Soukous music by adults at Christmas parties
Photo Credits: Darlyne Komukama
How do you go about finding new music? What’s your creative process in terms of preparing for a set or assembling a mix for online release?
I get a lot of music from Soundcloud, but as I’ve grown as a DJ a lot more of my music comes from relationships and networks I’ve developed. Supporting producers and their labels on Bandcamp is one of my favourite things to do.
When I’m working on a mix I usually take what I’ve been playing out live, the songs and transitions that have worked best in a club and festival setting, and mix in new or unreleased tracks that I want to highlight. I make an effort to include as much East African music as I can, and releases from our labels Hakuna Kulala and Nyege Nyege Tapes. Then I try to put the songs in an order that has a rhythmic narrative or emotional continuity. It’s important to me that my sets make sense from start to finish rather than just stitching tracks together. Then I record the mix from start to finish and try to make sure my transitions don’t suck. I almost always record my mixes in one take even though by the end of it I usually hate myself. But I’d rather my mixes are real than perfect.
What sounds have you been into recently?
Lately I’ve been enjoying the freedom to listen to a bunch of non-club music. All my shows for the next couple of months have been cancelled or postponed so I have the time to listen to music without having to think about whether or not it’ll fit into a club set, which is something i’ve missed. I’m enjoying a lot of Youtube deep-dives into older African/Diaspora bands like Casino Kasingo, Christine Mbango and Alain Kounkou, but also newer stuff like the Nairobass EP from XPRSO, David Walters’ Heavenly Sweetness, Cheb Runner’s Tagnawit, Fwonte’s Danse avec mes demons, Pongo’s Uwa.
How would you describe Uganda’s music scene in 2020? Who are some of the exciting new artists making music in the country and diaspora? To what extent are Ugandan artists in conversation with a greater East African scene?
The music scene in Uganda is vibrant. When you go out to mainstream clubs you’ll not only hear lots of Afrobeats and dancehall, but our own local Ugandan pop which takes influence from both. Our market is small but local music by artists like Sheebah or John Blaq is as appreciated (though not as well-remunerated) as international music. In the underground it’s only recently that a diversity of genres has found stages and venues like the Nyege Nyege festival. It’s been wonderful to see Acholitronix or Tanzanian Singeli be exposed to audiences outside of their own ethnic communities. I’d definitely recommend checking out acts like Slikback, Faizal Mostrixx, Catudiosis, Otim Alpha, Evon the Singer, and Suzan Keru.
Can you name a few of your favorite places to play and/or go out in Kampala (or Uganda as a whole)? What’s special about these venues?
My favourite places to play are always Nyege Nyege parties, because the people who come for those come with an open mind and no expectations except to dance. It gives me a lot of freedom to play what I want.
Going out in Kampala is always fun because there’s no arbitrary division between bars and clubs, everyone dances everywhere. Every neighborhood has its happening spots and people party throughout the week and until the morning. The “cool” bars or areas are cyclical; right now (or at least until the lockdown) Bandali Rise in Bugolobi is the best place to go bar-hopping.
Photo Credits: Darlyne Komukama
How would you describe the crowds at your shows? What differences do you notice between your shows abroad and those in Uganda/Africa?
Crowds vary a lot depending on where I am playing. European festivals by their nature tend to be very white, it’s at club shows that you get a more diverse crowd. Sometimes people come to my shows knowing nothing about me, just because they heard a Ugandan DJ was playing, which is always fun. Before the lockdown I played an incredible show in London with the Boko Boko crew who have a very African/Diasporic audience, so we had a great time filling the iconic Jazz Cafe venue with hype young black people.
In Uganda the crowd is anyone who is not looking to hear the usual Top 40, which can be anyone these days, because you can hear top 40 anywhere but the alternative is more difficult to find. The biggest difference between African and Western crowds is always the dancing. African music is designed so that people dance together, form circles and hype each other up, whereas Western club music is more about the experience between you and the music. Finding a balance between the two styles gives me a lot of pleasure
What has been a highlight of your musical journey so far?
It’s really hard to pick a single highlight. I’ve played some massive festivals like Sonar Barcelona and Fusion festival, and played in clubs from Japan to Mexico. DJing has given me a life I wouldn’t even have had the courage to imagine for myself and I’m very grateful. I think the best part has been being able to travel and meet other young DJs, producers and promoters who share a love for African sounds and believe in the power of a good club night or festival to change someone’s life. Before this, I loved parties and clubs but now I understand just how vital they are to a community, how important they are spiritually to young people everywhere.
In January of last year the Ugandan Government proposed a law that would impose stringent restrictions like requiring artists to have their songs vetted before release and seek government permission to perform outside Uganda. Can you speak at all to the status of this legislation and if it’s proposal has had any effect in Uganda’s creative communities?
I’m not sure what the current legal status of those regulations are, but there’s a general feeling that many of our laws are only enforced when someone is seen as oppositional to the current government. It’s just another example of declining civic space for all Ugandans, artists are no exception
Photo Credits: Darlyne Komukama
Photo Credits: Darlyne Komukama
What changes have you noticed in recent years regarding the space provided for women and sexual minorities in Uganda's artistic communities? What does the emergence of collectives like Femme Electronique, 4 Many Sisters, and NyegeNyege mean for the scene as whole?
I think it’s a reflection of a demand for more diverse music in Uganda and globally, and it's wonderful that this new growth comes with more space for women and other minorities. DJs like Hibotep, BushFya, Turkana, Catudiosis and Authentically Plastic are definitely at the forefront of the alternative club scene here
How do you see Ugandan and East African music progressing in the future? What do you think is most needed to propel the industry forward?
I would love to see the state and other conservative and bad actors get out of the way of the music and events industry and out of the way of young Ugandans generally. Instead of being supported, young people trying to make a life for themselves contend with all kinds of formal and informal red tape. This affects all industries but nightlife is one of the things Kampala is famous for. Imagine if we invested in nightlife the way Vegas or Ibiza has?
You are a wearer of many hats; activist, writer, DJ, co-founder of Salooni etc. Can you speak briefly about your work outside of music. As of now, where is your energy focused?
My energy is currently focused on staying sane and safe in the midst of this pandemic. Seeing as DJing is on hold, I’ll hopefully have more time for art and writing work, as well as taking the time and space we all need to rethink the way our society functions and our places in it.
Anything you would like the Tangaza readers to know?
I think I’ve said enough! :)
