The art collective known as E.A. Wave consists of a fresh brand of deejays and innovators who incorporate new school techniques in manipulation of music, creating a futuristic sound that meets the sonic needs of a new generation of Nairobi party goers. With an average age not more than 25 years-old, these young music lovers are changing how we listen to music, how we consume art and how we view creativity. Through collaborations with stars such as Karun (Runka) of Cosmic Homies and Willow Smith under their belts, they’re a stylish creative force to reckon with.
To the undiscerning eye, they are just a deejaying collective, but they are more art collective than sound ensemble. Venturing into much more than just music, the members of EA Wave dabble in art, production, design, fashion and video production. The resulting fusion of art, music and style makes for a burgeoning trend that is penetrating the entire Nairobi cultural scene, and this young group of creative talent is at the forefront of this movement.
EA Wave is made up of Nu Fvnk, Mvroe, Jinku, Ukweli and Hirabae.
Nu Fvnk (real name Kelvin Hansen) attributes his name to a time he was downloading old school funk samples and decided to make new songs out of the samples hence ‘Nu Fvnk’. Nu Funk got into deejaying because his musical heroes at the time also DJ’d; he wanted to be like them and decided to pursue it. He describes his style as a mix of old school music and anything else he’s into at the current time. His interests and talents outside of deejaying are music production, rap, photography and digital art, and he also makes a killer spaghetti bolognese.
Mvroe (a.k.a James Mburu) got into deejaying because he possessed a large music collection and for the love of just getting to play it and vibe with a lot of people. He doesn’t have any specific genre of choice, rather he plays as a mix of many different genres depending on the situation and mood he’s in. His interests outside of deejaying are music production and engineering. He also has interests in fashion and is trying to start a clothing line to basically design all the weird ideas that pop into his head everyday. And due to the influence of Ukweli and Nu Fvnk, he wants to also venture into digital arts. Clearly there is nothing he’s not willing to try his hand at.
Jinku (real name Jacob William Solomon) attributes his name to divine intervention, a dream to be exact. Jinku got into deejaying through the mentorship of Saint Evo, an acclaimed DJ in his own right and DJ Knord who booked him for his first gig. He describes the music he plays as all over the place, but eclectic as f*ck. His interests or talents outside of deejaying are graphic design and being an illustrator.
Ukweli (real name Brendern Denousse) attributes his name to music being a way he expresses himself and a way for him to be true to himself and his music, and that’s why he chose the name Ukweli. He got into deejaying as a natural progression, because as a person who makes music he wanted to connect with the people who listen to music and currently deejaying is the best way to test out new material and connect with a crowd. He describes the music he plays as alternative. His interests or talents outside of deejaying are music production, graphic design and photography.
Hiribae (real name Hirabe Chanda Wanyoike), decided to use his middle name as it is a pretty rare name around here. Hiribae got into deejaying due to the fact that his friends always asked him to play music when they were in group settings and also because I saw it as a good platform to share his music as a producer. He describes the music he plays as ambient because he uses a lot of ambient psychedelic sounds. His interests outside of music is anything artistic that gets him excited. His dreams include working on a fashion line and maybe a gourmet restaurant in the next 10 years.
We caught up with the collective and quizzed them on their formation, work ethic and future plans.
Why the name EA Wave?
We feel like people don’t recognize East African music as easily as they would West African or South African music. As we come up we want the rest of Eastern Africa to come up as well, not just Kenya. The name represents a new movement which like a wave hits you and sweeps you off your feet.
How did the members of EA Wave meet?
We all met at different times, but the common place was online - we just happened to find each other on SoundCloud and we really loved each other’s stuff. Eventually when we all met in person we vibed so well and started hanging out at least once a week. The idea of becoming a collective just came naturally.
Why a collective and not just pursue deejaying, music and other ventures as an individuals?
We still all make our individual music and our tastes are broad but we would collaborate often and we thought those collaborations should go under a different name a collective, also there is strength in numbers, our goals and vision are aligned so there was no reason as to why we couldn’t pursue our goals together. It’s rare to find people that have the same vision as you so when I found those people it’s more of why not than why.
What can you guys say about working as an unit and its advantages? Are there any noticeable disadvantages?
A big advantage is always getting to experience this journey with a group of people you love. Working as a unit has taught us many things like the importance of teamwork, having chemistry and of course motivating yourself, you gain this from seeing everyone else’s work ethic. The advantages outweigh the demerits. The only downside is that are five of us and that means five faces people have to attach five different names to meaning more than often not people mix up our names, that and getting out schedules coordinated.
How long have you guys been spinning individually?
Mvroe has been doing this the longest out of all of us since early high school and the rest of us started after that. The person who has the most DJ experience in the group is Mvroe, followed by Jinku, then Nu Fvnk, Ukweli and finally Hiribae.
Who do you do this for and why do you guys continue to work together? What do you love about each other’s work?
We do it for the art and for the existence of dope things in the universe, we continue to work together because we vibe well with each other and we all working towards the same vision, we love each other’s work, our diversity, different influences and individual skills in the group and our fans because they honestly keep us motivated and challenge us to grow every single day. It’s a journey best experienced with friends.
Any plans of producing say a whole album and not just singles here and there?
Plans are underway to release our own white label compilation series real soon and I know definitely an album in the near future, we are thinking of it potentially being called ‘A Tribe Called Vibes’. We are building a catalogue of work for now, then eventually of the strength of that we will release an album in the future.
What is the future for EA Wave?
The future is really bright for us because we are working on a lot as we will soon be an art collective doing fashion,visual art,film and of course music. We are also planning to go live(literally making music live on stage) before the end of this year. It’s a roller coaster ride, if you asked at the beginning of the year where we would be we would have never predicted this.
With notches under their belt such as shows at Blankets and Wine, Africa Nouveau, YKNL(Mchuzi Mix) and MNE (Mwanume Ni Effort) festivals, a solo show in Uganda, meeting designers like Bongosawa and Bonkerz, collaborating with Cosmic Homies, working with Jojo Abot (an amazing singer from Ghana), EA Wave are cementing their place in the African creative scene. Having only been a unit for less than a year (about 7 months) so much has happened, to the point the members describe it as surreal. Because of their unique dynamic, these eclectic innovators in sound are poised to take the world by storm.
