Nyokabi Kariũki – Get In Her Ears

Tash and Kate were back on Soho Radio’s airwaves playing loads of new music from some of their favourite female, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ artists! Mari offered some of her “musical musings” too. The pair enthused about the eclectic mix of tracks on the playlist, including 1000 Beasts, Grandmas House, Alewya, Hannu Hu, LibraLibra, Nyokabi Kariũki and more.

They were also joined in the studio by Joni and Karsten aka grunge duo Fraulein. The London-based band spoke about the inspiration behind their recent single ‘Pet’ and chatted about the making of the accompanying video, shot by Lily Doidge. Joni also spoke about leading the guitar workshop for this year’s edition of First Timers Fest, and Tash and Kate validated Karsten’s continued admiration for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Fraulein will be playing live at The George Tavern in London on 27th April. Click here for the rest of their upcoming UK tour dates & tickets to their shows.

Listen back to the show below:

We’ll be back on Soho Radio on Monday 3rd April, 12-2pm!

Tracklist
Queen Latifah & Monie Love – Ladies First
1000 Beasts ft. Laura Elizabeth Hughes – Burning Flower
Alewya – Sweating
King Isis – in my ways
Miya Folick – Get Out Of My House
Grandmas House – Desire
Sona Koloyan – In The Air
JFDR – Spectator
Hannah Hu – Thirty
Jean Genie’s Massive Hugs – The Ferret
Shit Present – Fuck It
Earthlung – Joy
Periscopi Invertit – Ball pla de Tirig
Sidney Sinclaire – Aphrodite
Full Pelt – Better Off (chosen by Girls Rock London)
Lunch Machine – Pipe Dream Graveyard
Ezra Williams – Deep Routed
Fraulein – Pet
**Interview with Fraulein**
tummyache – Alive Again
AnnieMUSIC – The Way It Feels
Nyokabi Kariũki – Nazama
Girl Ray – Everybody’s Saying That
LibraLibra – Mother’s Ruin
Brix Smith – Fast Net
Aisha Badru – Lazy River
Jackie Shane – Any Other Way

A deeply soothing, hypnotic soundscape inspired by a recovery from long-term illness, Kenyan-born, USA-based composer and sound artist Nyokabi Kariũki has shared her latest single ‘Nazama’. Taken from her upcoming debut full length album, FEELING BODY, which is set for release on 3rd March via cmntx Records, the track is a considered, experimental blend of soft vocals and instrumentation that tentatively celebrates the regaining of physical and emotional strength.

“There’s a trauma of illness that remains within you, both in the physical places that it existed; and in the mind,” Kariũki explains about the context behind ‘Nazama’, a Swahili term which translates as “to sink”. On this single, and throughout her new album, the musician explores the marks left by her experience of living with long-COVID for a large part of 2021. She was also inspired by the fluid and healing capacity of water, which is a recurring motif throughout the record.

Following on from her acclaimed debut EP, peace places: kenyan memories, released in (2022), FEELING BODY provided a new space for Kariũki to dismantle and make sense of the impact that chronic illness has had on her well being. Using field recordings, flexing her impressive vocal range, and accompanied by violinist Yaz Lancaster and trumpet player Michael Denis Ó Callaghan, Kariũki created a safe space to examine this difficult process.

“To share a painful story is to also to discover ways to protect yourself as you do so,” comments the musician. “Asking text-to-speech to say phrases you struggle to repeat; recording stream-of-consciousness voice notes so that you don’t have to sit long in thoughts; and to find, in sound — from field recordings, to dreamy improvisations by musical friends — a way to express visceral feelings and noisy thoughts.”

These “noisy thoughts” have translated into dreamy, ethereal soundscapes like ‘Nazama’, which is the concluding track on FEELING BODY. “There is a lot to say about being sick, about being sick during a pandemic; about how the world treats you if you are sick for longer than “just a cold”,” Kariũki continues. “I am ever in awe of our bodies, and how they keep going, despite and in spite of all the pain we go through in life. In a way, this album is an expression of love, and gratitude, to my own.”

Listen to ‘Nazama’ below.

Follow Nyokabi Kariũki on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Gianfranco Bello

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Tag: Nyokabi Kariũki

LISTEN: GIHE on Soho Radio with Fraulein (06.03.23)

NEW TRACK: Nyokabi Kariũki – ‘Nazama’