Nighttime in Nairobi

Africa Is a Country Radio continues its season focused on African club culture. Our next stop is Nairobi with Kenyan journalist and radio programmer Bill Odidi. Listen on Worldwide FM.

President Records Ltd present Matata, London, 1971, photo: unknown, (c) President Records Ltd.

As a child, one of my favorite Soukous songs was “Nairobi Night” by the Soukous Stars. I loved the rolling bassline, percussive guitars, and the language-neutral singalong chorus. I knew little about nightlife, only from parties my parents threw in their basement on occasions like New Years Eve, but seeing the title, perhaps I imagined what a Nairobi night might feel like thousands of miles away. So it is in the spirit of that imagining that I present the next episode of Africa Is a Country Radio, where we continue our look at club culture across the African continent, and take a visit to Nairobi.

In this episode I chat with Bill Odidi, a journalist and radio programmer who participated in the Ten Cities book project about his essay on clubbing culture in the Kenyan capital. I ask, questions like “What defines a club in a city full of mobile soundsystem matatus?” “How does club culture reflect the character of the city?” “What do you think of sheng drill music in?” and more. We of course listen to some both classic and cutting edge tune out of one of East Africa’s most vibrant and diverse music scenes. Take a listen below or on Worldwide FM, and follow us on Mixcloud to catch up on all the episodes.

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