Duma is a Kenyan-Ugandan

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

duo composed of vocalist Martin Khanja (also known as Lord Spike Heart) as well as guitarist and producer Sam Karugu.

History

Duma was formed in 2018 by vocalist Martin Khanja and guitarist-producer Sam Karugu. Both of them were playing in various bands in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, but the duo came together in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, after Khanja moved there to work with the label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The duo's musical style was influenced by the electronic music they had been listening to and playing on synthesizers and computers before as well as heavy metal that they had been playing in their former bands Lust of a Dying Breed and Seeds of Datura, as well as their desire to experiment with a more electronic version of the

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

music that they had been making up until that point. The band's name, Duma, means ''darkness'' in the Kikuyu language. The duo's self-titled debut album, ''Duma'', was released on 7 August 2020 to positive reviews.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

's Ammar Kalia awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating "What results is an intriguing picture, one that is challenging yet full of a depth that promises an exciting future for this nascent Kenyan scene." Pitchfork's Mehan Jayasuriya gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, stating that "The Kenyan noise band’s debut is inventive and abrasive, a timely distillation of global chaos and techno-dystopian dread".

Discography

* ''Duma'' (2020) * “Canis” b/w “Mbukinya” (2022)

References

{{reflist Grindcore musical groups Noise musical groups Kenyan musical groups Musical groups established in 2016 Sub Pop artists 2016 establishments in Kenya