Uganda’s EDM Scene

Then and Now

Back in the time at the beginning of the 21st century while I was in primary school, I had a preferential ear for unique sounds and even up to date, I still do. I would sometimes here music at events that was composed of strange sounds that were sounding different from the common known musical instruments. Little did I know I was enjoying electronic music and that was at a time when Electronic Dance Music (EDM) was exploding into a global music genre with hit songs reaching Africa and other parts of the world. The music was just so beautiful and so nice, it just made me happy even without hearing the singers.

At the time, the trouble was how one would hear such melodies and rhythms again as it was something new to the society and minimally consumed by the people. Most radio stations played the local music as well as music from the international stars like Rihanna and Beyoncé. One only had the chance to listen to EDM at select few radio stations that had weekly programs which played that type of music specifically, and that particular radio station was Vision FM which is the current day popular X fm. The other place to grab hold of the music was at social events especially the social events as the songs were played as celebratory songs. Today, the music is quite known and many of the people and club deejays play and enjoy this music only that, a majority of them do not even know it is called EDM.

The events

Uganda is home to various music festivals that celebrate the music cultural diversity in the whole of East Africa. A decent number of cities host such events with a majority happening in the capital city, Kampala. The most prominent festival with a lot of buzz is the Nyege Nyege festival which is sponsored by MTN Uganda and usually held in Jinja. Interestingly, this festival is home to various local EDM deejays that play music rich in electronic elements. Female deejays also play at the festival and it seems like the biggest supporters of EDM music in Uganda are the female deejays like DJ Kampire and DJ Mericorn of which, this is a surprise since this deejay sector is largely dominated by men.

Not to mention, there are other events that happen around Kampala notably underground Kampala, which has had a series of raves held each month ever since the start of the calendar year 2022. Also, we have the rooftop transit raves that occur almost every month and just like the name, the event occurs at rooftop venues in Kampala. All these events are influencing the promotion and penetration of EDM right here in Uganda. The EDM community in Uganda is small but potentially growing day by day with more people being introduced to these events and the emergence of Ugandan electronic music artists/producers who began making the music since they love it. All these artists, organizers and promoters are pioneering the blistering EDM revolution in the pearl of Africa.

The Artists

Literally known as producers, we have so many budding EDM acts in our community. These are mainly influenced by electronic popular deejays as they seek to create their own music brands. A number of EDM styles are made by the upcoming youthful deejays of which some are popular and others less popular such as Amapiano, House and Afro EDM. Some of the names of the talents behind the tracks are DJ Arta, Tera Nitric, Izaya the composer, Arche, Crums, Maerco, DJ KosGabby, Buccura and the Winter Trillionaire.

Promotion of these independent artist largely lies in their own hands as they try to do creatively to acquire commercial exposure and dominance. Most of the artists want to make it international just like their inspirations and role models and this not only shows that they have big dreams, but also aspire to overcome the challenges preventing Ugandan music have a deep international foothold. West Africa has done it, so has South Africa therefore, Uganda can do it too and this time round it could be so with their own musical style which could be termed as Ugandan EDM.

Listen to EDM made in Uganda on this Spotify playlist courtesy of Urban Flow: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ej6S4dCpeS3UuvlmBDi6l?si=49aBIx7tR3OgCg_Is9QiDQ&utm_source=copy-link

Catch the latest Afro EDM DJ Mixes right here: DJ ARTA SESSIONS (DJ Mixes): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyI4QtGDLQjwTM3-rCOERm23Y-Sgi-mss

Uganda’s Music Scene