Duma (KE)
Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and Sam Karugu emerge from Nairobi’s flourishing underground metal scene as former members of the bands Lust of a Dying Breed and Seeds of Datura. Together in 2019 they formed Duma (Darkness in kikuyu) with Sam abandoning bass for production and guitars and Lord Spike Heart providing extreme vocals to the project.
Their unique sound fuses the frenetic euphoria, unrelenting physicality and rebellious attitude of hardcore punk and trash metal with bone-crunching breakcore and raw, nihilist industrial noise through a claustrophobic vortex of visceral screams.
Duma are a sinister force facing pain and difficult emotions head on is the place from which Khanja writes. A sonic aggression of feral intensity with disregard for styles, the duo promises to impact the hungry East African metal scene moving it into totally new, boundary-challenging experimental territories. Their self-titled debut album was released August 7th 2020 on Nyege Nyege Tapes and has received the best accolades from the press, including best album in several end-of-the-year lists (Metal Hammer, Pitchfork, The Wire, The Quietus…)
Duma has a new 7″ dropping soon on Subpop’s singles club and a new AV collaboration with Jesse Kanda. A remix for Mdou Moctar and a collaborative album in the works with Indonesian duo ‘Gabber Modus Operandi’ and with Brazil metal band Deafbricks.
