Kilele Summit 2026 Lineup: Kampire, Pwani Tapes Lead

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East Africa summit returns with solidarity focus

Kilele Summit returns to Nairobi February 23–March 1, 2026, with a first-wave lineup anchored by Kampire, Mehmet Aslan, Mina, Sisso & Maiko, and Jess Aslan. (Original source) The third edition adopts a "sound and solidarity" theme, shifting focus from showcase logic toward intergenerational and cross-local connection. Kenyan imprint Pwani Tapes will hold a residency throughout the week, while Jim Chuchu, Mizizi Ensemble, and Martin "Youth" Glover join the programme. (Nairobi Events Guide - Get tickets & the calendar to popular events ...)

Organised by Santuri East Africa, Kilele positions itself as the region's only summit for music, tech and culture, explicitly resisting market-driven programming. Activities span workshops, installations, community radio initiatives, and the Instrument Makers Lab. The full schedule remains unannounced; tickets go on sale in December. (About Kilele)

Kampire and Pwani Tapes lead residency programming

Ugandan selector and producer Kampire anchors the first wave alongside Turkish-British DJ Mehmet Aslan, Mina, the Sisso & Maiko duo, and Jess Aslan. (First Wave of Artists, Residencies and Projects for Kilele 26 ...) Kenyan imprint Pwani Tapes will take up a residency at the summit, extending the label's work documenting coastal Swahili electronic hybrids and Indian Ocean diasporic sounds into the conference format.

The residency model reflects Kilele's pivot toward multi-day collaborative work rather than single-night bookings. Pwani Tapes' involvement signals an infrastructural ambition: using the summit to incubate long-form projects that link regional production networks with global distribution channels. Programming also emphasises community radio as a shared space, aligning with the summit's stated refusal to prioritise metrics over ideas. Tickets go on sale in December, with the full programme to follow. (Kilele 26 - MOOKH)

Regional infrastructure over festival market logic

Kilele positions itself outside the itinerant festival circuit, functioning instead as fixed-point infrastructure for East Africa's experimental music and tech communities. The 2026 edition occupies Nairobi West Mall for seven days, trading the weekend-only showcase model for an extended format that accommodates multi-disciplinary programming: conference sessions segmented into panels, presentations and roundtables alongside film screenings and mixed-media installations. (Kilele 2026)

The event's organisational structure reflects this logic. Santuri East Africa maintains dedicated contact channels for general, programming, press and tech inquiries, signalling a conference apparatus rather than ticketed entertainment. The Kilele To The World project anchors community radio as infrastructure rather than content stream, creating broadcast channels for the artists and collectives convening at the summit. Tickets release in December, though pricing remains unannounced, deliberately withholding the market signals that typically frame festival attendance. (Original source)

Sources

• Original source
• Nairobi Events Guide - Get tickets & the calendar to popular events ... (2025-12-17)
• About Kilele
• First Wave of Artists, Residencies and Projects for Kilele 26 ... (2026-01-05)
• Kilele 26 - MOOKH
• Kilele 2026 (2025-12-29)

How we reported this

We reviewed the original coverage from RANews and cross-checked key details against the sources above. If something is unclear or changes after publication, we’ll update this post.

About the author

Tom Rander — Tom Rander is a journalist and electronic music specialist who has spent years documenting the intersection of club culture and technical innovation. With a background rooted in both the booth and the press room, Tom founded Rander.io to provide a more rigorous, expertise-driven alternative to mainstream music blogs.