Kenyan Composer Nyokabi Kariuki On Winning SA Recordings’ ‘Recompose’ Competition
Kenyan composer Nyokabi Kariuki was named the winner of the SA Recordings’ prestigious ‘Recompose’ competition which saw over 100 participants tasked with reworking a selection from Grammy-nominated producer and composer Alev Lenz’s ‘3’ album. Her genre-bending recomposition of Lenz’s ‘FIsherman’, which fused Nyokabi’s African heritage through featuring the mbira and her Western classical training through vocal and electronic experimentation, stole the show. Nyokabi went on to collaborate with Alev Lenz and animator Jonny Sanders on the creation of an accompanying bespoke video inspired by oceanic landscapes, bringing the musical experience to life.
We caught up with Nyokabi to learn more about her career journey, inspirations and winning the ‘Recompose’ competition.
Who is Nyokabi Kariuki?
I’m a composer from Nairobi, Kenya. I write all kinds of music - contemporary classical, choral, experimental, for films, for choreographers. I’ve played the piano for nearly 17 years, sing, and also have been self-teaching African instruments, particularly the mbira, which is also known as kalimba or adongo in Kenya. The work that I create is almost always focused on elevating stories and sounds from home as I firmly believe that African stories belong in the world’s collective memory.
Do you remember your first, impactful moment with music? How has that experience influenced your journey?
I can remember a lot of my firsts with music — my first ‘serious’ piano teacher, the first time I played in front of an audience, the first time I composed a piece for piano: I was around 9 years old, and I’d notated it and everything; but the funny thing is that I didn’t realise that was called ‘composing’ back then. (I still remember fragments of the piece!) But while I do have these memories of firsts, I don’t know if I can point to any one of them and say that they were singularly impactful. I was always around music and music was always around me, so choosing to dedicate my life to music felt like a very natural, maybe even inevitable, thing.
What have been some influential moments that spurred you to pursue a career as a composer?
I remember the moment that I decided to be a composer very lucidly. I was 14 years old, and my father and I had gone to the cinema to watch Life of Pi, which had just come out. Unfortunately, it was sold out, so we just had to settle for the only film that had available tickets, which happened to be Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away. We didn’t know anything about the film and so we just kind of went along for the ride. But as the movie went on, I started to realise that we had chosen a film that had absolutely zero dialogue and no narrative whatsoever, and as a 14-year old, this was undoubtedly the most boring film I’d ever seen. But the funny or maybe ironic part is that because there was no speaking or plot in this movie, I turned my attention to the music. The score was stunning. I’d even start tearing up at certain moments, just because of how powerful the orchestration was and because of how connected I felt to it. That’s when it clicked: that’s exactly what I wanted to do; I wanted to write music that made people feel. So after the movie finished and my father and I were going down an escalator, I turned to him and said, “I know what I want to do with my life. I want to be a composer.” And he said without hesitation, “Ok. That’s fine. You do that.” And so from that point onwards, being a composer is what I’ve worked towards.
How has your upbringing in Nairobi impacted your career and how do you incorporate your culture into your work?
In so many ways. Firstly, growing up in Nairobi meant that I really did absorb influences from everywhere, both consciously and subconsciously. From my parents' CD collection to listening to Kenyan radio, I’d be jamming to everyone from Rihanna to Sauti Sol to Oliver Mtukudzi and Brenda Fassie. And then at the same time, my piano fingers were tracing paths of Western classical composers. I am fortunate to have had access to environments that gave me all these different kinds of exposure. Today, it has become increasingly important to me that my work is fuelled by a desire to know, and to show, more about where I’m from. Our landscapes, our languages, our stories. I’m wanting to reclaim the stories that were erased or skewed or misrepresented. I know I said this in the beginning, but I really do believe that African stories, as told by ourselves, belong in the world’s collective memory. So as a creator from the continent, I want to do my part—however big or small— in shining that light.
Another important thing I picked up from growing up in Nairobi is that our understanding of music’s function in society is different. In Western classical music, there’s often a clear delineation between composer, performer, stage, and audience. However, in Kenya, and also generally across many African cultures — music is a very visceral, community-based activity. These lines between stage and audience, or between composer and performer, are very blurred. In the African church, you stand up and sing and clap and dance as much as the musicians on the stage are. You go to traditional Kikuyu weddings, and all the women go to sing for the bride. And even just within my extended family, there are so many incredible musicians already and it was very common that they’d just burst into song and everyone joins in without question. So by growing up in an environment where everyone, regardless of ‘musicality’ or ‘training’, were able to add their own sounds into the music, I developed this understanding of music as a very natural part of being African. When I look at how much I adore collaborating with other artists and/or inviting other people to be a part of my work, I really feel like it stems from that upbringing.
What was it like having to go against cultural norms in deciding to pursue a career in music?
It’s interesting that in as much as music is an integral part of African life, it’s still something that’s not considered a ‘viable’ career option. But, how supportive my parents were, has been, from the get go, what made it easy to move forward with pursuing a career in composition. Having them in my corner allowed me to brush off all the comments I’d get: “why would you ever choose to do music when you can do other things like business or law?” “Is that even a real degree?” “Why would you waste your time doing that?” It’s funny because these were comments that I’d be getting from teachers who would then still ask me to perform in assemblies; or comments from people who’d at one point paid for their own children to take music lessons, or who’d turn up the volume when their favourite songs played on the radio. We are surrounded by art and are constantly consuming it, but in the same breath, we push back against valuing the labour of its makers (economically, socially, and in other ways). This mentality is certainly not unique to Kenya; you’ll find it everywhere, and I think that’s because our systems have been designed to undermine the role of art in society. However, I also feel it’s important to acknowledge that there are many barriers to pursuing art in a place like Kenya, and because our current system provides very limited support for artists, it feeds into the fear or stigma surrounding the validity of arts as a career option. As a result, I am grateful to have had access to the resources that created my foundation.
In addition to unwavering support from my family, it was just really clear to me that it was music that I wanted to do. I don’t see myself doing anything else. And because of how clear that was, I’m able to just keep pushing on. And, for each nasty comment I’d get were also moments of support as well, and that’s what I focus on. I’d perform in school, and parents would come up to me and tell me how my playing moved them. Younger students would tell me, seemingly out of nowhere, that I inspired them. It’s the realisation that you might be opening the door for at least one other person that makes all the snide remarks and disapproval feel insignificant, you know? But I’m still young and I’m still in the early stages of my career, so there’s still a lot of proving people wrong that I’m going to have to do!
What/who have been your major musical influences?
This changes all the time, but there are some constants. From the African continent, I often have Orchestra Baobab and Francis Bebey on repeat. In the Western classical sphere, Mahler, Ravel and Beethoven are huge influences. And then to name drop a couple of other artists, Pink Floyd, FKA Twigs, London Grammar, Kelsey Lu would be up there. I am also heavily influenced by piano-based singers, particularly Tom Odell and Nina Simone.
What inspired your rework of Alev Lenz’s Recompose piece?
The “Recompose” Competition, hosted by SA Recordings and Alev Lenz, asked us to choose any of the songs on Lenz’s album, ‘3’, and re-interpret it in our own way. It was such a rich album and there was so much to choose from. I went for the song 'Fishermen' because I’m very drawn to water, and in this instance, I was drawn to how I could interpret ‘water’ in the music. The score felt really open and full of potential. My approach was to half-learn the song, so that I didn’t get too attached to Alev’s version, because I wanted to fill it in with my own musical style. All the sounds in the recording are created by my voice and the mbira, and I experimented with electronic processing to paint a boozy, oceanic landscape. The song is a canon, where one line is repeated over and over, and so I wanted to explore highlighting particular words or phrases within that one line in order to see how that might change the meaning or give the piece a different energy.
What went into making the video?
I’ve always wanted to work with an animator, and so I was very excited when I found out that this was part of the winner’s prize. I’d checked out Prehuman’s other video work for musicians, including Yoko Ono (!!) and Sinkane, and it was incredible. So I was really excited about what it might look like to work with him.
What I really loved was that the process of making the video was also a collaboration. We all had a zoom meeting where we threw out ideas, and Alev and I both went to the drawing board and painted and sketched out drawings that actually appear in the video! The lyrics in the video are written in my handwriting as well. Fun fact about me is that I do draw a little bit as a hobby, and again I’ve always felt a pull towards water in art, so many of my drawings from when I was younger were oceans and its lifeforms. So it was quite amusing that things came full circle in that way.
What have been some major roadblocks in your journey?
One I’d say is constantly having imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Whew - I’m still working on this. In Nairobi, I had done almost as much as I could’ve with the resources around me. And then suddenly I was in New York, and those accomplishments seemed trivial in comparison to the people around me — their childhood had been inundated with opportunities that I didn’t even realise existed: some were singing on Broadway from when they were 6 years old, others had attended notable composition and performance summer camps for most of their high school life, others were already signed to record labels by the time they joined college. So I constantly felt as though I didn’t know anything, and interestingly this feeling has continued even as I’ve graduated. My first instinct is to say ‘I’m not ready, I’m not good enough’, when someone is interested in commissioning me to write music for them. And then, when I write music that’s well received, my mind will convince me that it was a fluke or a stroke of luck. I’ve definitely gotten better at keeping it to myself and not letting it stop me from volunteering or taking opportunities that I’m interested in, but I don’t know if that feeling ever really goes away. We’ll see.
On the other hand, what have been some highlights?
Wow, there have been so many of these as well, and I’m so grateful for that. The ones that come to mind are all similar in that they are all moments when I felt that my art was seen and valued, and where people connected to the stories I tell in my music. In university, I loved studying composition because I was constantly making art and being challenged, inspired and surrounded by other artists. And in 2019, when I was in my final year, I was announced co-winner of Brooklyn Youth Chorus Men’s Ensemble 2019/20 Composer Competition, and I was commissioned to write a work for them that was going to be premiered at the Kings Theatre, an historic venue in Brooklyn. That was postponed due to COVID, but it was an opportunity that I didn’t expect to get, and so to realise that they had connected with my art and wanted more of it was a huge moment of affirmation. It also gives me joy to bring along for the ride my friends and family who support me — for instance, I used my cousin’s poetry for that commission, so we shared the win together in that way.
Since then, so many incredible opportunities have come my way in such a short amount of time, such as this “Recompose” Competition. What I’m loving is forming relationships that last beyond the opportunity itself. For instance, I’ve gotten to know Alev Lenz through this, and she’s an incredible composer who I really look up to! She’s just full of light. So the fact that my music is reaching people, and connecting with them — it’s an honour and a neverending highlight. I’m really grateful for it all.
Are you currently working on more works that we should look forward to?
Yes! Being a contemporary classical composer, I am usually working on a constellation of projects in many different spaces. To throw some out, I’ve been working on a commission for double bass, which a friend and incredible performer will perform in a concert in March. And then, I was selected as one of 9 collaborators for Tetractys New Music’s “NET WORK” Collaboration Project, and so I’ll be working with two other artists on a work that will be premiered in a virtual concert in May. Lastly, I may be releasing some recorded music soon, but I can’t say too much about that right now, so feel free to follow me on social media and subscribe to my newsletter to get all the updates!
