Listen & relive: Duma live at Le Guess Who? 2021, curated by Phil Elverum

Curated by Phil Elverum Recordings

Kenya's Duma, figureheads of the flourishing Nairobi underground metal scene, performed live at Le Guess Who? 2021 as part of the program curated by Phil Elverum (The Microphones/Mount Eerie).

Martin "Lord Spike Heart" Khanja and Sam Karugo released their self-titled album in 2020 through Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Tapes and were invited to contribute to Sub Pop's Singles Club last year (a series that started in 1988 with Nirvana's 'Love Buzz'). In November, the duo brought their deafening industrial chaos to Le Guess Who?, and you can now relive the full performance:

"Duma are a duo that transport me far beyond the orbit of guitar music. Their sound escapes categorization and is not easy to pigeonhole into a single genre: they play grindcore; the industrial, broken walls of noise in the darkness of the hall are a great basis for Martin Khanja’s squeaky growling. This is a very original concert in terms of sound, but also a bit theatrical in form" - Nowe idzie od morza

Duma's new European tour kicks off Thursday, 31 March, in France and also includes dates in a.o. Italy, Germany, Poland and Belgium. On 23 April the group performs at the mighty Roadburn Festival in Tilburg.

Le Guess Who? Recordings
The publication of this recording is part of Le Guess Who?’s ongoing expansion of the festival’s recordings archive, with 50+ recordings from past editions now freely available online. It contains audio and/or video recordings of Mazaher, Alabaster dePlume, Suuns, The Microphones, Girl Band, Deerhunter, Makaya McCraven, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Neneh Cherry, Mount Eerie, Selda Bağcan and many more.

Captured on Saturday, 13 November 2021 at TivoliVredenburg's Pandora during Le Guess Who? 2021

Recorded by Marc Broer & Marc Schots 
Mix by Marc Broer 
Photography by Maarten Mooijman