Introducing... Kasiva Mutua

Among all the bright new African talent making their mark internationally, artists from East Africa tend to be in the minority. So, the arrival of Kasiva Mutua from Kenya is something to celebrate. Although Mutua isn’t exactly a newcomer; for over a decade, she’s been a highly sought-after percussionist, playing at festivals including Sauti za Busara and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She was also part of The Nile Project, is a TED Fellow and was included in OkayAfrica’s 100 Women list of “extraordinary women from Africa and the diaspora” in 2018.

So, why has it taken her so long to front a band and release an album? Mutua laughs, then explains that Desturi, which means ‘Tradition’, is the culmination of nearly ten years of exploring Africa’s myriad rhythms. “I have always loved the 6/8 time signature”, Mutua muses. “My body moves when I hear it. Every time I listen to music, I spot the 6/8s, so I decided to use all this research to find a sweet spot so that when the album is being listened to in Angola or Morocco, they can hear a familiarity that sounds like home.”

The album is a sonic exploration, featuring lilting benga guitars, call-and-response vocals and, of course, a whole range of percussion including the West African djembé, the metallic rasp of the ongeng’o from Kenya’s Luo culture and La Réunion’s rattling kayamb.

When Mutua first started playing the drum, she was told it wasn’t her place. “I was in Uganda for a concert I was going to do, and an old man came and asked me, ‘Young lady, how do you think you look holding that drum between your legs? You need to learn how to sit like a woman.’ At that time, I was really young and I didn’t really understand what was going on. When I look back, to be sexualised for holding an instrument…”

Despite the discrimination, Mutua persevered: “For around eight years of my life, I worked not to advance in my skill, but in order to earn respect and a seat at the table so that then I could start doing what I wanted to do.” As a result, she co-founded an all-female drumming collective called MOTRAMUSIC: “It’s a space that is safe for women to express themselves, learn and to bond.”

Mutua’s biggest childhood influence was her grandmother, after whom she was named. “She inspired the way I listen to the world. She was such a good storyteller and used to tell me folk tales.” Witnessing Mutua on stage at jazzahead!, there’s no doubt she’s inherited her grandmother’s narrative skills, as she introduces us to the tradition of Swahili storytelling. Mutua clearly relishes being centre stage and by the end of the 30-minute set, the audience are up on their feet, waving their arms and making faces. “I could sense that people were curious”, Mutua smiles. “At the end of the show, everybody looked like a child… there’s nothing that inhibits a little child and so it is a value that I carry in my life, to be childlike, that’s why I laugh the way I laugh, because I don’t care! I just want to play music, because music brings me joy.”