Beyond Noise Team
Following her recently released single ‘Land (Black)’ with Sisian and Kasiva, emerging Nairobi artist Coco Em shares ‘Winyo Nungo’Ft. MC Sharon and Wuod Baba. The second single from her forthcoming debut EP Kilumi, due for release on InFiné on 21st April 2022, ‘Winyo Nungo’ is a testament to Coco Em’s futuristic vision and creative prowess. Impossible to pigeon-hole sonically, she draws inspiration from rap, grime, amapiano, afro-house and beyond on this fierce collaboration.
Speaking on the single, Coco Em says,
“Whine your waist, Winyo Nungo was initially the first single of Kilumi. The fire bars by these two MCs were delivered entirely in their mother tongue ‘Luo’. Wuod Baba was the first to approach me for a possible collaboration. I listened to a lot of amapiano in 2020 when I made this and Wuod Baba was open to trying out a different genre from rap music.”
Joining label alumni Deena Abdelwahed, Sabrina Bellaouel and Rone, Coco Em’s debut EP finds a fitting home on French label, InFiné. “An album I started writing during the height of the pandemic in 2020, ‘Kilumi’ (Kamba sacred drum songs and dance) explores elements of different sounds that kept me going in a very difficult year,” explains Emma who set out to write a fresh beat on Ableton every day to push herself as a producer and hone her skills. These explorations led to a collection of 70 ideas, each one reflecting a different shade to her musical palette then refined and sculpted into this beguiling seven-track journey.
“Kilumi takes on different paths each time a song starts,” Emma explains as she describes the EP. “From the amapiano inspired elements of the single ‘Winyo Nungo’, the energetic combination of bass and hi-hats on tracks like ‘Kilumi’, the moody trap style of ‘Keep The Pace’ and more are the building blocks of the overall EP piece.”
Featuring seven fellow Kenyan kindred spirits – MC Sharon, Wuod Baba, Ndunge wa Kalele, Sisian & Kasiva, Janice Iche and Ladbi Ommes – Coco Em’s debut release is a vibrant reflection of her own artistic soul, her inspirations as a DJ and the rich creative energy happening in studios and dance floors across the diaspora right now. The EP’s final process came through Santuri East Africa studios. A Nairobi-based non-profit organisation that empowers East African artists, through their mentoring she refined the release to the remarkable trip you hear today. They’ve also given Emma the resources to found the Nairobi-based female, non-binary and trans collective Sim Sima, which is also the name of her new label.
Hailed as the “hardest hustling DJ” by Okay Africa, Coco Em has played to dance floors across the globe, including sets at Boiler Room Nairobi, Nyege Nyege, Uganda, Trans Musicales, France, and will make her fabric debut on 13th May with Rhythm Section. Currently based in Nairobi, her electrifying mixes for electronic tastemakers XLR8R and Groove Magazine, and her Sim Sima Worldwide FM residency showcase her globe-trotting sound that moves easily through afro-house, kuduro, lingala, hip-hop and beyond. With plenty more music on the way and her sights set on touring the UK and EU, Coco Em is a big one to watch for 2022.
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