Kenya's Saint Evo takes 'equatorial house' to global stage

Music wasn’t always his first-choice career. It was in 2007, while in South Africa studying for a business administration degree, that he started making music. In 2011, he finally came back to Kenya, where he continued to DJ and produce music. It was around the same time that he founded his record label, Celsius Degree Entertainment. Having grown up listening to hip-hop, reggae and Afrobeat, Evo ended up with a diverse musical influence. As such, his sets are characterized by predominant drumbeats, infused with a variety of organic, indigenous sounds and vocal hooks that hail from Southern-, Central- and his native East Africa. This Kenyan DJ and producer is always seeking to tell a story through music and is never shy to "go deep". 

Evo's fans will be glad to know that he has finally released a snippet off his long-awaited debut album, Jeru. ‘The Rapture’, the first single off his debut album, was released on 24 September. It gives a glimpse of what to expect from the progenitor of a new music sound he calls ‘equatorial house’.

“The equatorial sound is unique in its own aspect as it is a new genre that is a fusion of East African drum rhythms and sounds," Evo told Music In Africa recently. "It is laced with a house music beat of 'four-to-the-floor' kick, enmeshed with erratic melodic sounds from the Equatorial region. However, it needs to be noted that this sound is still in evolution. In time to come, it will have matured and fully blossomed.”

Featuring collaborations with various artists from East Africa and Europe, Evo's debut album is set for release in early 2016 and will be distributed online via iTunes.

Saint Evo is no stranger to the struggles of being an Afro-house DJ and producer, especially in a local scene that strives to gain international recognition. Consequently, he has been active in trying to showcase the talents of emerging East African artists through his monthly podcasts, Talking Drums. The series brings to audiences a variety of fresh African grooves, deeply rooted in Afro-, tribal- and equatorial house. It serves as a platform where he not only presents house that is produced in East Africa, but also related sounds from other underground scenes in Africa. Among the artists that have been featured on the monthly podcasts are Kenyan songtress Inami, Idrissa Sissoko (Mali), Boddhi Satva (Central African Republic), DJ Satelite (Angola) and South Africans Oskido, Melo Mokoena, Heavy K and  Black Coffee. He has also featured productions and remixes by Kenyan producers such as Marcus Ezra, Brackish and Kaynez, as well as his own.

Evo says most of the listeners come from Europe, South America and the Caribbean. However, his podcast also garners sizeable numbers from Kenya, South Africa and Angola. With two artists signed to his record label, as a producer Evo has also had the opportunity to work with Lulo Café (South Africa), Wumni (Nigeria), Joel Sebunjo (Uganda) and Americans Taigo Onez (Chicago) and Mack Boogaloo (Los Angeles). 

“I’m an artist that loves to emulate his art in the form of sultry, effervescent, and at times erratic sounds," Evo says of his work "My goal is to change the status quo of the Kenya music scene in the hope of taking it to global recognition.”