Kenyan musician Blinky Bill makes music for everyone
Just A Band frontman and producer Blinky Bill talks pop, process and play. Plus, he spins us a few of his favorite tunes.
When Kenyan musician, producer and DJ “Blinky” Bill Sellanga was a kid, he snuck Michael Jackson and other American pop into his musical diet, against his family’s preference for African music. But something stuck: Sellanga grew up to front Kenya’s globally popular Just A Band, a collective of musicians creating self-described “super-nerdy,” infectious music incorporating hip-hop, electronica and funk — all with an African inflection.
Now he’s back home in Nairobi, working on his own solo project and thinking about his role in the evolution of African music. Here, Blinky gives a sneak peek into his thoughts on pop, process and play — and spins us a few of his favorite tunes while he’s at it.
What a Kenyan musician listens to — everything. I’m always curious about what everyone else in the world is doing, so I listen to music from everywhere. When I toured the United States with Just A Band, I found that American musicians are very well versed with music from within their own country. In Kenya, we also grew up listening to pop music from a few acknowledged African musical superpowers: the Congo, Nigeria and South Africa are traditionally considered the primary sources of African pop.
At the moment, the African music scene is so diverse and interesting, I could actually spend all my time listening to music produced on the continent. I’m also now looking for what we Kenyans have that’s special — so these days I’m exploring older Kenyan music that can be reinterpreted for the present and moving forward.
What should African music sound like, anyway? I feel sometimes when outsiders look to African music, there’s an expectation of a certain sound. I’d like it to be just music. I think my solo work can be confusing to people, in the sense that it veers off in many directions. I like people like Björk or Thom Yorke — people who have taken the liberty to just be themselves, do whatever it is they want to do because they really enjoy it, rather than being pigeonholed to geography. When my EP came out, I was surprised and happy when someone messaged from Japan to say that they liked it.
There’s something that’s so rich about African music and African culture that it’s not something that I would want to erase from my music, and I expect something of the African vibe will still be in there whether I intend it to be or not. And I have no objections if Kenya claims me as its own!
From collective to solo and back again. My work day: I wake up in the morning, go to the studio to work on my ideas. If I want support, I call in a couple of session musicians and we can add and build it from there — and I curate later wearing my producer’s hat.
Making music is interesting because you can enjoy it solo as well as in community. For the last year, I’ve been focused on creating my own work, but I’ve not quit Just A Band. It’s a collective that works in much the same way as the Los Angeles-based funk group Odd Future — a bunch of rappers, songwriters and producers who do projects together but also step out to do their own projects. That’s how we work too: we’re on a quest together finding out what our individual voices are, so we each work solo. Whenever we decide to come back together to do a project as Just A Band, we bring whatever we’ve learned back into the process. Meanwhile, I sometimes ask them to come contribute, and still get their input.
Always reach for playfulness. Playfulness is always a part of my process, whether it’s getting musicians to improvise or grabbing ideas from whatever it is I happen to be listening to at the time and throwing it into the pot for fun. I like to experiment. For example, I have a talkbox, the instrument you put in your mouth to create a robotic sound from your voice. As of right now, I don’t know anyone else who plays with a talkbox in African music, and it’s something that I really want to include on my new project.
For the most part, I enjoy music that has a bounce and a vibe and that draws you in. That’s something that I’ll always want to have going forward. Let’s go with the flow, let’s enjoy life. It’s serious, but it’s not that serious.
Blinky Bill’s favorite tunes. Play loud and dance.
Djula dance, by Ibaaku — Ibaaku is an artist from Dakar making super-imaginative music.
Aburoy, by Tek.Lun — Rashad Williams, aka Tek.Lun, aka Varth Dader, hails from Baltimore Maryland. This tune is definitely a party starter.
What if I Go, by Mura Masa — Mura Masa is a British electronic music producer from Guernsey that currently on high rotation at my studio.
Honey Comb, by Kadhja Bonet — Kadhja Bonet, a singer from Los Angeles, produces beautiful and timeless songs. I especially love this one.
This Kind Luv, by Patoranking ft Wizkid — This song features two of Nigeria’s most popular musicians.
Kamaal, by J Dilla — James Dewitt Yancey, aka J Dilla, was an influential hip hop artist and producer, working with acts like Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. He’s one of my favorite music producers, and has had a huge impact on how I make music.
Loli, by Kwame — Kwame is an up-and-coming Ghanaian-Kenyan musician and producer who’s churning out good music on the regular.
Retrograde, by Vincent — Funky. Play it loud.
Water me no get enemy, by Fela Kuti — Fela Kuti is of the most influential, intelligent, complex, political, witty, controversial African musicians ever, and this is one of my favorite songs of his.
Sing, by Four Tet — Four Tet is an English post-rock and electronic musician. I love this song. It just makes me happy.
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