Nyege Nyege Tapes

Description:

Western Front presented a showcase of music from the internationally celebrated Nyege Nyege Tapes label, as part of a cross-Canada tour. The evening featured live performances by Tanzanian Singeli pioneers Sisso & Maiko alongside genre-defying French-Cameroonian artist Violence Gratuite.

Founded as a club night in Kampala, Uganda, Nyege Nyege began with a mission to create a safe, supportive space where East African DJs, musicians, and artists could take creative risks, share ideas, and build community. This foundation grew into a dynamic cultural platform that includes a festival, a professional recording studio and residency program, and two record labels—Nyege Nyege Tapes and Hakuna Kulala—dedicated to nurturing the underground music scene. With its own booking agency and relentless innovation, Nyege Nyege continues to champion a new generation of boundary-pushing creatives.

Violence Gratuite (aka Violaine Morgan Le Fur) opened the night with selections from her debut album Baleine à Boss (2024), a suite of pulsing techno and fractured trap infused with echoes of French pop. Rooted in imagery from the forests of western Cameroon and shaped by a restless, exploratory spirit, her set blended raw vocals and textured beats into a hypnotic, genre-defying whole.

The evening also showcased Sisso & Maiko, masters of singeli, Tanzania’s breakneck dance music. Propelled by razor-sharp MCing that reflects the joys and struggles of urban life in Dar es Salaam, singeli blends frantic loops, taarab, and afro-house with MCs’ satirical lyrics that address the realities facing Tanzanian youth. 

The Nyege Nyege Tapes's Canadian tour also included the following dates and venues:

Oct 9, 2025 Debaser, Ottawa

Oct 10 & 11, 2025 Arts in the Margins, Montréal

Oct 16, 2025 The Music Gallery and Strangewaves, Toronto 

Oct 17, 2025 Send + Receive Festival, Winnipeg

Presented in partnership with Nyege Nyege Tapes; Arts in the Margins, Montréal; Debaser, Ottawa; The Music Gallery, Toronto; and Send + Receive Festival, Winnipeg, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, and SOCAN Foundation.

Curated by Aki Onda.