LATEST:

i went to Sundance film festival 2026 for the premiere of “Kikuyu land”, a documentary film i co-scored

The film digs into the topic of exploitation and land in the tea farms in Kenya, and one of the things that stands out about it to me is that it looks very honestly in to the role of “middlemen” in the ways that they were bought and sought to serve and perpetuate colonial and imperial systems — both in the colonial period, right after, and especially now.

A very deep thank you to Bea Wangondu and Andrew H. Brown for being so sure about me and my work. It was an immense honour to write original music for the documentary and to contribute to its teeming sound world, alongside the wonderful Keir Vine, a film composer who I had teamed up with in 2023 for The Shadow Scholars. There are many beautiful voices and important perspectives that are highlighted in the documentary, and I am so very excited that it is coming out into the world for people to engage with. We have to continue asking questions about what it really means to confront these colonial-era policies that still define the ways that our systems are built to work against its own people.

Be on the lookout for subsequent screenings of the film, including at CPH:DOX (Denmark) and Movies That Matter (The Netherlands)

2025

The concert premiere of “Birdsongs from Kirinyaga” with Cello Octet Amsterdam at Rewire Festival, and I scored a two-part documentary for Nike & Amazon Prime.

  • My new project with Cello Octet Amsterdam, “Birdsongs from Kĩrĩnyaga”, saw its world premiere at Rewire Festival in April 2025, and we further toured it for Gaudeamus Festival, September Me Festival, and at the esteemed Muziekgebouw in the Netherlands in September 2025.

    I also gave the premiere of “Body, bend ”a 30 minute piece I composed for body percussion with live-electronics, at Sonic Territories Festival in Vienna, Austria (October 2025).

  • I composed the original music for Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile, an Amazon Prime documentary, released in June & July 2025. The documentary follows the inimitable Kenyan athlete Faith Kipyegon as she attempted to run a mile under 4-minutes, and also reflects on her early races, motherhood, and the team around her that has helped write her in the books as one of the greatest middle-distance runners in history.

2024

No release this year, but! I went on 3 tours on 3 different continents (North America, Australia and Europe), two of which were with the inimitable Julia Holter!

  • Supporting Act for Julia Holter’s North America Tour - 6 shows across East Coast USA, including in New York’s Webster Hall (May 2024)

    Solo Australia Tour (curated by Lawrence English) - Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane), and The Substation (Melbourne) - (July 2024)

    Supporting Act for Julia Holter’s EU/UK Tour - 10 shows (including in London’s Islington Assembly Hall and cities including Copenhagen, Paris, Amsterdam, Ghent, Stockholm, Oslo, Luxembourg) (November/December 2024)

  • I attended 3 international film festivals in 3 different cities (Nairobi Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) — each of which screened different films that i wrote music for, including my first feature-length film, The Shadow Scholars (co-scored with Keir Vine).

2023

the release of my second record (or debut album), FEELING BODY (cmntx records), plus my first tour, and my COLORS show!

2022

the release of my first record (debut EP), “peace places: kenyan memories”!

2020 & 2021

upcoming events:

past events:

Featured
Kilele Summit 2026 - Nyokabi Kariuki as part of MIZIZI Ensemble at The Rift, Nairobi, KENYA
Feb 25
Kilele Summit 2026 - Nyokabi Kariuki as part of MIZIZI Ensemble at The Rift, Nairobi, KENYA

The experimental supergroup Mizizi Ensemble is back for Kilele 2026, this time at The Rift, with a new performance continuing on from the questions they left unanswered after their electric Kilele 2025!