KATOKYE (UG) + Berbere Superstar (US)

On Monday, September 7th, at 7:00 PM, Kirtimai Culture Center hosts a concert where the traditional KATOKYE throat singing from Western Uganda meets Berbere Superstar – psychedelic, Ethiopian-inspired electronics.

John Katokye is one of the most prominent performers of traditional throat singing from the Banyankore community in Western Uganda. His ekyeshongoro songs are born in the here and now – improvised poetic phrases about people, the land, the life of cattle herders, and memory. Overlapping sounds, long vocal flows, and an almost ritualistic performance style.

Released in 2025 on the renowned label Nyege Nyege Tapes, the album "Obuhangwa bwa Banyankore na Bahororo" introduced this exceptional vocal tradition to an international audience, soon followed by a debut at one of Europe's most important experimental music festivals, "Le Guess Who?."

https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/obuhangwa-bwa-banyankore-na-bahororo

Vincent Moon video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA5ItjYP2PU

At the other pole of the evening is Berbere Superstar – a project by American composer and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Rapino. Here, Ethiopian musical heritage, live sampling, electric violin, drum machines, and rare vinyls merge into an unpredictable fabric, equally open to dancing and listening. We can expect everything from Jamaican dancehall or Algerian folklore to improvisational music and contemporary electronics – without clear genre boundaries, but with a strong rhythm and a distinct vision.

https://jonahrapino.bandcamp.com/album/berbere-superstar-the-best-things-are-never-recorded