The experimental music association Skaņu mežs continues its concert series “1-2 Cauri!” with two events in September: on September 6, the traditional African music duo Katokye will perform at the bar “1983” (Vagonu Street 21), and on September 12, the Ethiopian dance‑music‑inspired experimental project Berbere Superstar will play at “Aleponija” (Ernesta Birznieka‑Upīša Street 22). Both events start at 20:00. Ticket information is available below.
Katokye – September 6 at 1983
Katokye is a traditional African music duo, focused on Western Uganda throat singing.
John Katokye has spent his life immersed in the traditional songs of the Banyankore people of Western Uganda. Growing up herding cattle, he honed his craft over decades and is now recognised as one of the region’s most talented traditional singers.
Specialising in ekyeshongoro (literally “song”), Katokye improvises short, poetic phrases reflecting on family, regional history, and the landscapes where iconic longhorn cattle graze. Backing singers often overlap his lines in a continuous vocal flow that can exceed 10 minutes, transforming each performance into a mesmerising, meditative experience.
With the release of “Obuhangwa bwa Banyankore na Bahororo” (released by Nyege Nyege Tapes on September 5, 2025), Katokye brings the hypnotic vocal traditions of Western Uganda to a global audience, delivering an album that is both culturally vital and unlike anything most listeners have encountered.
Katokye's international concert debut took place at Le Guess Who? in Utrecht on November 8, 2025.
Ticket info: available for 10 EUR at the entrance or 8 EUR via www.bilesuserviss.lv.
Berbere Superstar – September 12 at Aleponija
Jonah Rapino is a Chicago-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and electric violinist whose work spans experimental music, film scoring, Ethiopian-inspired dance music, and live cinema performance. He is a founding member of the acclaimed Ethiopian funk ensemble Debo Band as well as the Devil Music Ensemble, an internationally touring group that composes and performs original scores for silent films throughout North America and Europe.
As a composer, Rapino has created music for the documentaries Alice, Darkon, New World Order, and Journey to Planet X. Under his solo project, Berbere Superstar, he reimagines traditional Ethiopian recordings through sampling, live electronics, electric violin, and dance-floor rhythms. The project has toured extensively, with performances throughout China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the United States.
Rapino is currently resurrecting the Berbere Superstar project with a new live performance format that combines live sampling of obscure Jamaican dancehall vinyl and Algerian folk music 45s with drum machines, looping, and electric violin into immersive, genre-defying performances.
Beyond live music and composing, Rapino is a founding member of Chicago's Lit Lawn Collective, co-presenters of the Little Lawndale in the Park festival in Douglass Park. He is also the recipient of a Chicago Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grant supporting the complete renovation and transformation of his DIY art and music space, Wolf Village, into a dedicated gallery and performance venue, currently under renovation and slated to reopen in 2027.
Ticket info: available for 5 EUR at the entrance.
The Skaņu Mežs association is supported by the Riga City Municipality and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.
More info: www.skanumezs.lv
