San Francisco Frontiers - Kenyan women jockey for place at DJ turntables

Kimtai gushed over the skills she learnt on the intensive four-week course at the Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA), which she hopes will help her thrive in a world historically dominated by men.

"I can do everything. I can mix, I can beat-match. I can assess the energy level of music," said the 32-year-old aspiring DJ.

Established in 2021 and named after the Swahili word for vinyl, the academy sees itself as a hub for musical innovation and inclusion.

"Prior to this I was just a lover of music," said Kimtai, whose stage name is Tawa.RaR.

"But I wanted to be able to fuse different genres -- travel across different worlds."

Carving out a place in the electronic scene remains a challenge for Kenyan women.

The organisation that runs the academy interviewed dozens of artists in 2020 for a study and found women were gaining visibility as DJs in east Africa.

Yet they remained marginalised and paid significantly less than men, while music production was also male-dominated and training costs too high for many.

SEMA has since trained hundreds of people in production, mixing, DJing and other elements of the business.

Besides encouraging women and minorities to take part, the academy also raises sponsorship funding for those who need it.

"When I started DJing, I would have really liked to have had something like this because the teachers I had were all men," said DJ Shock, who was leading a class on the commercial side of the business during a visit by AFP.

She only knew two other female DJs when she started out 20 years ago, and said the men would "gatekeep" the art.

"It was a bit of a struggle to get them to share information equally," she said.

- 'Equal dopeness' -

At the back of the classroom, speakers were stacked behind a turntable, while trainees tapped away on mixing software in preparation for an imminent final presentation.

"We're the people who are going to make spaces get safer for everyone," said Daisy Nduta, 28, a recent sound engineering graduate.

She was excited to be DJing live soon under her stage name Naniwho.

Santuri organises frequent events for the students to test their skills.

"We welcome everybody the same... We put anybody prime time who we feel can do the spot well," said DJ Shock, denouncing the way clubs often relegate women to play the opening slots when audiences are sparse.

Things are rapidly improving for women who DJ in Nairobi, however.

Women are earning headline slots at major clubs while collectives like "Sirens" organise women-centric events.

That success is part of a global pattern.

Industry network "female:pressure" says the number of women performing at electronic music festivals rose from just over nine percent in 2012 to 30 percent in 2023.

In Kenya, "there are more and more female DJs coming up... They're getting more confident, which I love," said Tina Ardor, who regularly performs at Muze, a Nairobi electro mecca.

She said there was still a widespread, often unconscious, favouritism toward men.

But the SEMA course, which she did two years ago, is helping to change attitudes.

"I'm not a fan of pulling the gender card," said Ardor, hoping the scene soon gets to a point where there is "equal opportunity and equal dopeness" for everyone.

P.Thomas--SFF