ALAI K - Kila Mara - 2LP - Vinyl

2LP – Black Vinyl

The Kenya born, Berlin based percussionist, vocalist, DJ, producer and “musical witchdoctor” Alai K releases his red hot debut album Kila Mara, via On the Corner Records. Sonically speaking, this vivacious collection of frenetic, polyrhythmic and percussive workouts link the spirit of Jeff Mills, DJ Rush, DJ Bone and K Hand with beats from The Bajuni Islands, Mozambique, Malawi and the maritime Swahili coastline north of Mombasa.

Alai started living and recording in Berlin 3 years ago, in a one room flat shared with his family. He would constantly be in flux, setting up his small studio in the kitchen, then packing it away again when they needed to cook. He later hooked-up with a notable Kenyan percussionist based in Hamburg called Izo Anyanga, and over several trips down the autobahn they jammed acoustically, with just drums, marimba, xylophone, and some good weed. The vibe was huge, and the pair decided they wanted to make a record, which could easily transpose for performance to a crowd. Music from eastern Africa, ancestral customs and the rituals of dance are deep in Alai’s DNA. His great grandmother was a singer and composer, and his father was a professional drummer, who alongside friends and family would play spiritual music from Bajun like Ndurenge, Kirumbizi and Bati, all night long, to uplift the spirit, or remember the dead.

Under his previous Disco Vumbi alias Alai self-released ‘Disco Vumbi 1’, followed by ‘Disco Vumbi 2’ on Byrd Out, and ‘Boutiq Electroniq’ on Nyege Nyege Tapes. At On the Corner he joins a roster which has included Guedra Guedra, Hieroglyphic Being, Collocutor, Uffe, Sunken Cages, BCUC and Khalab.