Interview with atsou – Madorasindahouse label manager

INTERVIEWSMUSIC

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How did this new V/A compilation ’Sounds Of Sasaab’ come to be? How did you hook up with who you did?

Midi Minds Kenya is the group of Kenyan artists Suraj, Foozak and Dylan-S, who are the pillars of the house scene in Nairobi. Following our recent visit in 2018, the guys contacted us, presenting their idea of the whole project. Of course we were really excited with it, as it proved to be the biggest project we have worked on as Madorasindahouse Records. Lots of friends were immediately on board, and we hope that the social impact of the project will be as big as the hype that has been created with the music involved.

How important is it to be culturally sensitive with projects like this?

We are almost at 2020 and someone would think that we would have perfectly advanced societies, with no racism and equality among the citizens of the world. Instead, the exact opposite is happening, and each one of us should do his/her part on improving the world we live in. This was our chance to do our part! 

Why do it at all, what was the inspiration and motivation behind the project?

Music is a universal language, and especially electronic music is addressed to people with social conscience, so it probably is the ideal crowd to raise awareness for projects like this.

How did you first hear of the Samburu tribe? What are they about?

Our collaborators from Midi Minds Kenya told us everything we needed to know about the tribe that is located in Samburu National Reserve, a huge park located 300km from Nairobi. They are a sub-tribe of the Maasaai and live a semi-nomadic life, herding sheep, goats and camels. The recordings were done with both warriors, children and the rest of the tribe.

How did you choose music for it, and decide who should take part?

The roster of the VA should be well balanced between local talent and european producers. The guys from Kenya made contact with upcoming artists such as Euggy and Vitu Shenzi, and we sent the sound recordings to artists we thought that would respect the cause and would be a good fit to the Madorasindahouse sound. After almost one year of collecting the finished tracks, we were extremely happy with the result, as it represents a really wide spectrum of the African-inspired electronic music, from soulful to more afro-tech stuff and everything in between.

 
 

Any mad stories around the project and working with these people?

Fortunately, all the sides involved were extremely professional! We expected the worst with so many people involved, but everyone did his part and delivered an exceptional result.

You have an event associated with it too right – tell us about that?

The release of the VA is on Friday the 29 of November, and Midi Minds have organised a release party on the 30th in Nairobi. The event will take place in Alchemist Bar, and will include a screening of the documentary that captures the essence of the whole project and what went down during the recordings, followed by 8 hours of music by Armonica, Dylan-S, Euggy, Foozak, Suraj and XtetiQsoul.

What else have you got coming up?

Release-wise, we have almost filled up our schedule for the first half of 2020, and we couldn’t be more happy about it! Some tracks that we have been playing for months, remixes by close friends, and a variety of sounds are on the pipe. 

What goals do you have for 2020, do you set yourself targets and things like that?

We are taking it step by step, growing as much as we can every day. So for 2020 we are aiming on making even more connections, growing as artists and visiting even more new places to spread the Madorasindahouse vibe!

 

V.A. compilation “Sounds Of Sasaab” released on Madorasindahouse Records is out now! Grab your copy here

 

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