UP Music: Nairobi Raves On to DJ Zhao’s Poly-Cultural Blends

Music is, and still remains the lifeblood of Nairobi. And for us, it peaked last Friday at the Tree House: sandwiched innocuously between loud traffic on Waiyaki Way and the steaming yet hip Ebony Lounge, David Cecil aka Ska Face was churning out some heavy dubs as we pulled in.

“The only Swahili word I remember is ‘Ngoma’,” DJ Zhao told us in a one on one interview. Our attempts to corner him and press him further were in vain - though we figured it could be from the sound system he plays with, Ngoma Sounds.

DJ Zhao is a globally-renowned DJ who has been pushing jaw-dropping mixes of genre-busting music from his base in Berlin.

Born in Beijing, migrated to USA at 12 and currently based in Berlin, Zhao is an amateur musicologist and professional booty shaker - quite a blend that influences his music selection!

Paving the way, the ever impressive DJ Gregg Tendwa ensured everyone had left his drink and was on the dance floor. Zhao’s curtain raiser for the night, Tendwa made sure to make the stakes high - marinating us with bengatronics - and when Zhao took over, he did not disappoint at all!

Zhao brought a poly-cultural understanding of rhythm to his deeply percussive sets.

Not one to be restricted by time, place or style, Zhao would pull us in with techno and great fusions of House and Kwaito when the left curtain was pulled.

When the right curtain was pulled, Elektro, Acid, Dancehall and Azonto would top the playlist.

Every set for Zhao was from the heart and had an African beat pattern, “I enjoy African sounds. It has influenced me a lot,” he would later tell UP. In between his sets, he would stop and look at the crowd as it got pulled in by his possessive mixes. At times, he would join the crowd for a jiggle.

Each mix revealed the ancient rhythm-roots undertone coupled with the sickest electronic and bass sounds which kept the crowd up on their feet.

Bringing the globe-trotting influence of his musical voyage to Nairobi, Zhao chose to showcase the sweetest, dance-floor friendly and heaviest dance music from all over the globe- mixing till the wee hours of the morning.

We expected the unexpected -which is a given with Bad Mambo Productions - and DJ Zhao delivered. Given Zhao’s previous performances in Nairobi and his reputation for putting in the effort, Zhao will definitely take the magic to Kampala’s Nyege Nyege Festival.

Bad Mambo Productions FYI: Directly from Glasgow, Scotland’s Biggest, Baddest and Loudest Soundsystem, Mungo’s HI FI will be in Nairobi for their first African concert ever!