The cinematics and acoustics of Kabeaushé’s takeover

“I wouldn’t swap myself for anybody else, I am having so much fun with myself.”

From his clear-skied wont of speaking, you could think Kabochi Gitau (known simply as Kabeaushé) was directly spawned from one of Nairobi’s eternal sunrays. He picked up our Zoom call from his old apartment, all jovial and courteous towards the city that raised him (which, at the time of our conversation, was his favourite place – but only until changing locations again). That’s how Kabeaushe’s sensibility for life usually goes – he embodies mindfulness almost in a monkish way, effusing deep admiration for the present tense through all of his creative outlets.
Our talk emerged into a vernissage of his unravelling tour, the album anticipated at the dawn of the warm season, and the inspiration that trickled into his art since childhood. Starting off in Portugal and threading his way around Europe along the year, the tour is a semblance of his dream of sharing his creation with the entire world. Naïvety or eclecticism are both too reductive of a term to encompass Kabeaushé’s wide(ning) array of references; his influences are slightly brushing over our repertoire, flying and diverging into a multitude of directions, uncontained. Luckily, we got the privilege of peeking into his superfluous world of inspiration, as extensive and opulent as the world he wishes to encircle.   

 

How are you?
I’m good, I’m good. I’m in very sunny Nairobi, and it’s nice and magical, and everything’s going well. What about yourself? 

I’m super happy to hear. Same here. It was sunny for a brief moment, but now it’s back to being cloudy and windy, the usual. You already described it as magical, but I was wondering how Nairobi feels to you?
It’s cool. I mean, it’s awesome. I haven’t been here since last year in May. So it’s cool to come   back. Nairobi is a mixture of everything all at once. Being able to enjoy home food and talking to the fam, hanging out a little, enjoying the nice heat because it’s always sunny. So it’s really nice.

It sounds beautiful, to be honest. Where did you leave to in the meantime?
Berlin. I just moved there. So I’m just back here because I’m shooting videos for my new project. I’ve only been here a month and then I leave in two weeks. 

You were born and raised in Nairobi, right?
Yeah, born and raised in Nairobi. I just recently moved to Berlin. Last year I made the permanent move, before I was just in and out.

How did the soundscape of the city influence your inspiration and growing into your artistry?
Nairobi is a fusion of so many things. I grew up around lots of music. The music on the radio was very different from the music that was played, for example, when we were at home. And also that was completely different from when we went, for example, for family functions or out for Christmas. What was on the radio was basically what was the most popular thing at the time: the usual Ne-Yo, the R&Bs, the Trey songs, the Beyoncés, the stuff on the big Billboards. And then what was played at the birthday parties was what the folks liked: a lot of Lingala, which is music from Congo, like the Koffi Olomidé, and there was lots of Benga as well. In the car, we listened to a lot of gospel music. Lots of Angela Chibalonza, and lots of Rose Muhando, a bunch of Tanzanian artists as well. We also listened to a lot of country music, especially when we’d go and visit my grandpa. So all I was exposed to was a mishmash of all those things, truly a piece of everything.

Did you already know you wanted to do this yourself when you were growing up, or did it click later in life?
I don’t think I did. However, I was always playing around. I think just like everyone else, you’re trying everything as it comes. You try drawing, you try singing, you want to be like the people that you see on TV, and so it was more or less the same thing as well. So I don’t think it was a straight cut thing. 

I also love when things you experimented with as a kid make so much sense in relation to what you end up doing. Do you have a main inspiration?
I don’t think there’s one. I think it’s a mixture of so many things. I think it’s like all the things that I consume, as broad as classical music to psych rock music, which is worlds apart. And the same as well for films. It’s like the most generic action film because it’s nice and pleasing, to the most art house-like film. But it’s more so wanting to comprise all of them and make the coolest possible thing that I could be.

That’s a good way to approach it. As far as I know, your musical career emerged from spaces such as the really big festival in Uganda, Nyege Nyege. Now, however, you’re taking over Europe. How do you feel about expanding your music beyond familiarity?
It’s cool. I’m having so much fun. I love playing in Europe. The goal is to play as far as possible. I want to play in Japan, I want to play in all of Asia, in America. It’s my dream to take the thing that I do and have it displayed in front of as many people as possible. We had our first show in Portugal. And after that, it sort of trickles down and continues all the way to the end of the year.

Lovely! Do you perceive a difference in the way people receive your music depending where you are geographically?
Depending on the country, there’s definitely a different reaction to the music. And the allure or the fun of it is what’s gonna happen this time around. If you asked me this question two years ago, I probably would have had a different answer for you. But right now I think it’s, it’s very interesting to see the reactions that different people have. It’s cool.

Obviously I’m not a musician, but I always thought about how it must be to be in front of so many people and such a wide array of geographical places and observe how people act differently as a unit. I can assume it’s a fun thing to observe for yourself.
That’s even more true at festivals—because the scope is so wide. You’ll have someone who’s topping the charts and someone else whose music is the complete opposite, genre-wise.  It’s a big mix of people coming to experience all kinds of sounds. Sometimes they’re not even planning to see your set—they just wander in out of curiosity. And the fun part is watching how people from such different backgrounds respond to what you’ve created.  But at the end of the day, good music is good music. It translates.

The way you speak exudes this very lovey, enthusiastic spirit. You also mentioned previously that your music draws a lot from your love for life, a sense of sensibility and softness. And I was wondering if you can detail what that means for your music.
I haven’t used softness in such a long time. We used softness when we were doing the first rollout for The Coming of Gaze, which was my first project. I think the music is always as vibrant as I possibly can. It’s usually an accurate reflection of where I am at the moment, my current mind state. And just the events that have been happening in that, in that time. And that could be either something that’s either within myself or my surroundings.

On the same note, what’s a brief way of describing your sound to someone who never heard it before? If it’d be like a few words, how would you name it?
If you ask me, I’d say it’s pop music—I really think it is. Others might label it differently, but to me, it’s meant to be as popular and accessible as possible. It has high falsetto vocals, very reminiscent of how people sang in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. The guitar riffs nod to that era too. At the same time, the drums and rhythms feel more current—stuff that translates well live. That’s really important to me: that the music works on stage, that people can move to it, groove to it. It pulls from all these different influences and then becomes whatever it is I’ve cooked up.

So if you could maybe pick like three adjectives for it, what would it be? Like three, like apart from pop music, like three words that would just like sum it up.
Really, really interesting. 

Right. What is your favourite medium apart from music or sound?
Ah, films. I love films—a lot. My new project feels like what a film soundtrack or score would be if I were making a film. The film itself is in the story thread, and in how I’ll execute the videos. The entire album feels like a sound score, and that comes from my love of films.  I’m a huge, huge film buff.  

Do you have a top three?
I actually have a top three directors that I think are really cool. That’s easier. It keeps changing, but right now, I’d begin with F.W. Murnau. The films made in the 1920s are a huge inspiration for how I’m making my next project with the musicians I’m working with. German Expressionism – I’m really into that now. Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari—that one especially is the biggest inspiration for my next project. There’s even a direct reference in one of my videos, anyone who’s seen it will spot it immediately. Wes Anderson is another one. Love Wes Anderson—very whimsical,  the way he handles costumes, framing, the whimsy—how he lets people exist in that and still builds a coherent thread in every film. You can feel like you’re watching the same scene but with a different story each time.  And then there’s Where Is the Friend’s House?—have you seen that? It’s by Abbas Kiarostami. He’s had a huge, huge impact on how I made Hold On To Dear Life and especially the music video for These Dishes. That’s fully inspired by Kiarostami. Oh, and Terry Gilliam! Just because of how whimsical and insane he is. And of course, Ousmane Sembéne — and Djibril Diop Mambéty. Two African directors I really love. Their work means a lot to me. Stanley Kubrick as well, and Terry Gilliam. Brazil is insane, but one of my favourite, Terry Gilliam, one of my favourites is The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

I really love the enthusiasm. Thank you for such a comprehensive answer. I feel like we already touched up on this, but would you like to detail more on your visuals? – so far, they have been very colourful, very striking. Now, they seemingly took a darker turn.
Okay, so I have a new album coming out in October—let the people know!  It’s definitely my boldest project yet. I’ve walked paths I haven’t before, worked with a bigger team, and really pushed things—especially with the videos. I went a bit ballistic with the costumes, and the music sounds a little skewed, a little rough—even rougher than Hold On To Dear Life .  I’m excited for people to see this other side of me. The singles will start dropping soon.  Making videos and putting concerts together is one of my favorite things, and this time the whole album is more cohesive than anything I’ve done before. There’s a full storyline from beginning to end.  The album tells the story of a king from a tiny village who lets pride get in his way—and it leads to his downfall. The album follows his slow deterioration all the way through.

I love a narrative concept when it comes to albums. I am wondering if you could swap lives with an artist for a day, who would it be?
No, I wouldn’t swap myself for anybody else, I have so much fun with myself.

Then what would a perfect day look like to you?
I think just waking up and then being able to execute my ideas, having the resources to do that… simply watching the thing that you have in your head come to life is the coolest thing ever. So with that considered, it’s already a perfect day. Having an eye or two eyes that watch the said thing and can value it is awesome to me. 

My last question is, what is your favourite place on earth?
Where I am right now. Now I’m in my apartment in Nairobi, but, I have so much fun with any place in which I would ever be. I don’t think it’s usually one place. I could be in Switzerland next week, next to the lake, and that’s going to be my favourite place. But right now it’s here, in the current moment.

Images by Fred Odede

Words by Luna Sferdianu