KMRU

KMRU works as a sound artist, experimental ambient musician, and DJ from Nairobi, Kenya. His compositions feature delicate textures that merge field recordings and indigenous sounds with expansive, hypnotic drones. Early efforts centered on beat-driven music, yet ambient releases brought him global recognition, notably the 2020 album Peel.

The artist took his name from his grandfather, the legendary benga musician and political activist Joseph Kamaru. Choir singing and classical guitar formed his childhood activities before he explored computer-based production and field recordings. Dance music also drew him in, leading him to weave field recordings and vocal samples into both his DJ sets and studio work. In 2017 he joined Black Lemon Records, which issued the ambient house album Euphoria along with multiple singles and EPs. Although he largely abandoned beat-driven production by 2019, his DJ sets retained a club pulse. He became a frequent performer at Uganda’s annual Nyege Nyege Festival and delivered well-received sets at Berlin’s CTM and Saint Petersburg’s Gamma Festival.

Erased, a three-track EP on the U.K. label Byrd Out, marked his first vinyl appearance in 2019. Throughout 2020 he issued numerous digital works plus two vinyl albums. Austrian imprint Editions Mego put out Peel, a sprawling yet focused ambient piece captured inside 48 hours, while Michigan’s Dagoretti Records released the more eclectic Opaquer. Seil Records issued a third album, Jar, on cassette, and he continued to release further drone pieces and shorter works. In 2021 Injazero Records released Logue, a collection of pieces composed between 2017 and 2019. Warp issued Rapture to Rupt, an hour-long mix drawn from Seefeel’s mid-’90s catalog.

In 2022 Subtext released Limen, KMRU’s collaboration with Aho Ssan. Temporary Stored followed, built from recordings held in the Royal Museum for Central Africa archives, together with the album Epoch. Glim appeared in 2023.