A unique mix of culture and music

Like arriving in a completely new world, accompanied by quick drum beats in an irregular rhythm. In one second, synths like some kind of distant dream, in the next, bass that brings you back to your body.

Queer Ugandan musician Nsasi’s new album, “Coinage”, carries with it the tradition of Nyege Nyege. The festival from Kampala in Uganda, which also consists of a number of other functions (see fact box below), has distinguished itself with its eccentric expression, and as a deadline for difference in a country characterized by extreme conservative and reactionary forces.

Endre Dalen, the man behind the mini-festival Nyege Nyege Remix Oslo, himself has a strong relationship with the original festival.

– Those who were there at the beginning explain the festival as an event for “locally minded internationals, and internationally minded locals”. It started in 2013 as a small thing of 50 pieces, says Dalen, who also runs the label Digital Diaspora.

Queer and “outsiders”.

Queer and female audience members and performers were from the beginning of the festival included. At the same time, the festival became an alternative to the mainstream in East African culture.

– Nyege Nyege works to lift queers and “outsiders”. In many ways, it is a festival for everyone who falls outside.

And there can quickly be many. In Uganda, with over 47 million people, the country ranks third on the list of countries in the world that accept the most refugees. In particular, many refugees come from neighboring countries such as South Sudan and DR Congo. Something that Dalen believes contributes to the international feeling at the festival, where national borders are blurred.

Now the festival has become East Africa’s largest.

Death penalty for homosexuality

In February 2023, a message ticks in on Dalen’s phone, from Joel, a friend from Uganda. “We are not safe, keep away from queer clubs”. People had gone missing, said the Whatsapp message.

It was no longer safe for the queer community. A few months later, it became international news: Uganda is tightening up, and homosexuality, which was previously illegal, can now be punished by death. A twenty-year-old man was the first to be sentenced under this new law in August 2023. As a result of the changes in the law, the atmosphere in and around the festival has changed.

– I have received messages about people who have been beaten or harassed, says Dalen.

– How has the negative development affected the festival?

– In the past, even if you quickly noticed that people have a strange expression, not many people cared about it. The festival functioned to a certain extent as a “safe space”.

– It’s not a queer festival, but it is. There are many different personalities. There are multiple universes in play. As author Alice Walker says of feminism, “womanism is to feminism, as purple is to lavender,” it’s all intersectional, he says before adding:

– Now you don’t see queer people expressing themselves like that anymore. There is no room for everyone to be themselves.

For a friend of Dalen, associated with the Nyege Nyege environment, it is nevertheless more important that one shares the culture from Uganda, instead of only the violence and horror.

– I think she has a rather interesting point, he says and emphasizes that what is special about Nyege Nyege is precisely the cultural exchange that takes place during the festival.

Among other things, the management with the same name, Nyege Nyege, has helped queer artists get a foothold abroad. Which has been a necessity, as it is no longer safe for many to stay in their home country. A function that was also important before the changes to the law in 2023.

Nsasi, one of the founders of the Anti-Mass collective explained, among other things, to the magazine Pan African Music in 2021, how Nyege Nyege assists in a troubled everyday life.

– When you are in an environment that has constantly been the target of police raids, it was a relief to discover that we had an opportunity for us to thrive and grow as queer creatives in Uganda.

What you didn’t know you liked

Connecting African artists to a wider international audience has been a core principle for the Nyege Nyege collective. The relationship with Norway also goes further back in time. Already in 2019, artists from the collective had a residency at Oslo World.

– They have a completely unique overview of underground environments, especially in East Africa, and pick up absolutely fantastic artists, preferably before they have even released anything, said festival manager Alexandra Archetti Stølen in Oslo World to Kontekst in November 2022.

The idea of ​​organizing Nyege Nyege in Oslo has also been there for a long time, but became more likely after many artists associated with the collective had been visiting over a number of years.

The festival organizers Derek Debru and Arlen Dilsizian and the interdisciplinary artist Hibotep also stayed at Dalen’s home when they were here for the first time in 2019.

– We talked for a long time about having a collaboration between people in Norway and people in Uganda. And it is a hallmark of the festival that it is not Ugandan, but more international in nature.

Something he also highlights as characteristic of the mentality of many of the festival-goers.

– They think of themselves much less as defined by national borders.

In other words, the idea of ​​organizing Nyege Nyege Remix Oslo was never far away.

– What do you hope to get out of the festival?

– The idea behind it is to remix Oslo. Because I register very big differences on all fronts. You have a very white techno event, and then you have music that may not necessarily be that different, but which mainly has a black audience, he says and emphasizes:

– So yes, I want to remix Oslo. Maybe people find music they didn’t know they liked.