It is 8:30pm on Saturday night in Nairobi. The night does not have as much action as the thrill of a Friday night, when it happens in virtually every corner of Nairobi. While the rest of the city is winding down, 100 revellers are getting the party started.
To my left, a crowd with luminous green headphones is vigorously dancing to ‘nothing.’ There’s no sound. No screams. Just shoulders rhythmically moving to nothing.
A quiet party, or ‘silent disco’ is a new concept in the city. This particular party, I find out, is organised by a Hillcrest School graduate, Mutuma Mwiraria, who is known as Jason in this circles.
Mutuma has not been to university yet, but has enrolled in EU Business School in Barcelona which he will join in September to study business management. In the meantime, he is giving Nairobians this surreal social experience where people dance to music via wireless headphones.
Clubbing in Nairobi has no doubt taken a new turn. It is no longer the loud, drug and alcohol-fuelled pastime youthful Kenyans rush to every ‘Furahiday.’ Silent discos will definitely excite the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
Speaking to CityBiz, Jason said he started the business last year, after pumping in Sh900,000 seed capital.
“I hosted my first event at Purdy Arms, Karen. I actually happened to stumble upon the idea entirely by chance,” said Jason, adding that, “I was looking for a pair of good quality headphones online and ended up on a website owned by an Australian company called Silent Safaris.”
He watched videos of silent parties and contacted the company on email to make an enquiry. He wanted to import the headphones to Kenya. “I feared it would fail, but so far, the response has been awesome.”
When you walk into a silent disco, unlike a club where a waitress in some brief costume leads you to some neon-lit grungy, here they hand you a pair of wireless headphones.
Revellers then listen to Deejay mix or live band. Three different songs are sent simultaneously to receivers on the headphones. You can choose to listen to one channel or toggle between the three stations. The people control the DJ and not the other way round.
You only really get lost when you unplug and come face to face with the true weirdness of it. Party-goers not only control the songs, but also the volume, meaning they can avoid the unpleasant ear damage after a long night of partying. If you want to have a conversation, simply take off your headphones.
“People are still sceptical, but those who’ve come to our parties have become addicts. It’s that life-changing,” said Jason.
Business is doing just fine for him. Recently, he hosted another silent party at Steve’s Steakhouse on Ngong Road. “The biggest challenge at the moment is finding an effectual and inexpensive way to create greater market,” said Jason. “But I regard it as an opportunity for me to fully understand everything that the business entails.”
