My name is Anita Kevin (Turkana), a DJ and producer born in 1997 living in Kampala now. I grew up most of my childhood in Kakuma, a refugee settlement in Kenya. I have always been fascinated by music and fashion. I highly believe in the power of attaining new knowledge as I think learning new skills in each person's interests is very important. Creativity is a medium of expressing and sharing our experiences in the form of art that we love and enjoy.
Over a year ago I decided to attend a one day workshop in deejaying and music production with Femme Electronic, focusing on electronic music fused with different experimental African sounds and hard dance. That marked the start of what has been one of the most fulfilling learning journeys of my life.
I like to have fun, meet and learn about new people and sounds. Kampala music scene has inspired me to interact and question the forward-thinking and to push boundaries with experimenting with sounds. In parties and festivals like Nyege Nyege, Anti mass, Razzle dazzle and femme electronics, artists experiment with a variety of sounds from different backgrounds.
Throughout 2019, I did both deejaying and music production workshops with Nyege Nyege Tapes, these helped me expand my knowledge in music and discover the genres and the sounds of my interest. Women I have met in this industry have a huge sense of sharing and supporting each other. I enjoy female line-ups a lot, the expressions and fierceness I experienced towards the end of 2019 sharing the stage with all these amazing women, are mind-blowing. Keeping up with this positive energy, starting this year in 2020 I joined a female deejay collective called 4manysisters (with deejays Decay, Catudiosis and Hibotep).
Growing in a Refugee Settlement wasn’t wrong or sad as people may think, it was home, however, I knew something great was in store for me. Today, as I grow in this industry I reconnect to my past and realize that our origins, culture and experiences influence our perspectives, inspirations, interests and sounds. I now take every set as an opportunity to express myself and show who I am. It is important to dream big and stay hopeful, no matter the circumstances, if you work hard for it you can surely achieve it
I want to keep learning new skills in music.
I am currently producing music that you will get to hear soon. This 29th Feb 2020 I will be playing a Femme Famous event at Wild Bar in Kampala. It has a line of incredibly talented female deejays, each of them has a unique form of sounds to exhibit that you shouldn't miss for a thing. Seeing women go out to bring their dreams to life is alluring.
@anitakevyn (Turkana)
@4manysisters
Soundcloud.com/turkana_ss
Anita Kevyn is part of Femme Famous, a Femme Electronic event supported as part of British Council Creative DNA, East Africa.
East Africa Arts is committed to connecting creatives across East Africa and with the UK. We believe these connections allow for new art to made, new skills t shared, and new networks are created.