Nyege Nyege (collective)

Last updated
Nyege Nyege
Formationc. 2015
Type Music collective
Purpose
Location
Artistic director(s)
  • Arlen Dilsizian
  • Derek Debru
Website nyegenyege.com

The Nyege Nyege collective, sometimes known as the Boutiq Electroniq Sound System, [1] [2] is an electronic dance music (EDM) music collective from Kampala, Uganda. The collective inherited its name from its annual Nyege Nyege festival.

Contents

History

Background

The collective stems from the partnership between founders and Derek Debru and Arlen Dilsivian. Both moved to Kampala in 2010: Debru (b. 1981, Burundi) was a Belgian film teacher at the Kampala Film School of Kampala University; [3] Dilsivian (b. 1978or1979) was a Greco-Armenian ethnomusicologist. [4] [5] The two met through the film school by 2011, and began organizing community film screenings and afterparties. [6]

In 2013, the two began a club night called Boutiq Electroniq at Kampala nightclub Tilapia. Unlike mainstream Kampala parties, Boutiq platformed local artists and African ethnic electronica such as balani, coupé-décalé, kuduro, soukous and tarraxinha. [4]

2015 - Present

The collective was realized in 2015 with the establishment of Boutiq Studio, colloquially known as the Villa, in a Kampala University-rented property as a residency space. [6]

Artists affiliated with Nyege Nyege have toured throughout Europe and Asia, playing festivals including CTM and Unsound. The 2019 edition of Red Bull Music Festival in New York featured a night dedicated to the collective, [7] although the two Nyege Nyege artists slated to perform, MCZO and Duke, were forced to cancel after customs agents denied them entry into the U.S. [8]

By 2019, Debru had founded Afroludo Limited as a holding company, to register Nyege Nyege as a trademark. The trademark was rejected by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau on ground of morality, and the trademark was given to a trademark troll. This led to a six-year litigation, for which the High Court of Uganda ultimately decided in favor of Afroludo Ltd in February 2025. [9]

In 2023 and 2024, the Nyege Nyege collective launched the "Afropollination" residency exchange project and tour program with Berlin-based Piranha Arts  [ de ], held between the Villa and the Stubnitz. [10]

Nyege Nyege Tapes
NYEGENYEGETAPES LOGO.jpg
FoundedDecember 2016
Founder
  • Arlen Dilsizian
  • Derek Debru
StatusActive
Distributor(s)
Genre
Country of origin Uganda
Location Kampala, Uganda
Official website Bandcamp

Nyege Nyege Tapes

Nyege Nyege Tapes was launched by the collective in December 2016. The label is distributed on Bandcamp, and secured distribution by Boomkat Limited by 2017. [11]

The label shares its name with the Nyege Nyege festival, both established in 2016. The label largely focuses on the underground music scene of ethnic electronica in East Africa. Some releases are home productions that digitally recreate traditional music like chakacha, while others are influenced by Western electronic genres like techno and trap. [12] The catalogue also includes field recordings by Debru and Dilsizian of tribal performers, many of whom had not been previously recorded. [13] All profits are split evenly between the label and the artist. [4] Physical copies of cassettes are limited and most are out of print, although the music is available digitally on Bandcamp. [14]

Hakuna Kulala

The imprint Hakuna Kulala (from Swahili  'no sleep') was founded in 2019 by Nyege Nyege Tapes artists Don Zilla, Rey Sapienz and Slikback. The imprint is focused on experimental music. [15] [11]

List of artists

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

References

  1. ↑ Pillault, Théophile (2020-04-01), Nihiloxica: Kampala's marabouts are back, Pan-African Music
  2. ↑ Ancient Champion (2018), Nihiloxica Now: The drums of Kampala's Nihiloxica are shaking the worldd, OUTSIDELEFT
  3. ↑ "Derek Debru". Institut français. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  4. 1 2 3 "Nyege Nyege: East Africa's new wave". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  5. ↑ Wei, Whitney (2022-11-02), How One Man Scammed Nyege Nyege Festival, Resident Advisor
  6. 1 2 Cartledge, Luke (2023-09-25), Nyege Nyege: ten years of DIY experimental music in Uganda, Loud and Quiet
  7. ↑ "Red Bull Music Festival New York 2019 Lineup: FKA twigs, Rosalía, Tierra Whack, and More". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  8. ↑ "Nyege Nyege Tapes artists Duke and MCZO denied entry into the US". FACT Magazine. 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  9. ↑ Opio, Mike (2025-04-19), Nyege Nyege founders win trademark battle, await final registration, The Kampala Report
  10. ↑ Askin, Christian (2024-03-24), Afropollination: Residency Power in the Global Underground, Pan-African Music
  11. 1 2 Sherburne, Philip (2019-03-20), 9 Must-Hear Albums from Nyege Nyege Tapes, the Label Putting Africa's Electronic Underground on the Map, Pitchfork
  12. ↑ "Nyege Nyege Tapes Spotlight Uganda's Burgeoning Electronic Music Scene". Bandcamp Daily. 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  13. ↑ "Uganda's Nyege Nyege Tapes are blazing trails for East African outsider music". FACT. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  14. ↑ "Merch from Nyege Nyege Tapes". Nyege Nyege Tapes. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  15. ↑ DJ Mag's artists to watch in 2020, DJ Magazine, 2020-01-09
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