ALÁRA provides ways to discover new sounds

The Nok Audio Labs is a phygital (physical x digital) platform that encourages, experiments with and features performances which incorporate Music, Spoken word, Satire, Audio technology (Binaural Audio) as well as Social interaction.
The main event involves participating artistes delivering a duration-specific live performance, both at the Alara gallery and online via recorded video.

Pan-African payment infrastructure, Kora has partnered with Alara, to kickstart NöK Audio Labs, a series of physical-digital sessions showcasing Afro-cultural talent. “From music to spoken word, satire, audio technology (Binaural Audio) and social interaction, NöK Audio Labs emphasizes the African cultural heritage of our past, present and future by introducing unique, fresh African voices that tell the African story,” according to the project website.

The series aims to not only interrogate the oral traditions of our past, present and future, but also emphasise the freshness and quality of Afro-cultural talents by extending their reach to newer
audiences by becoming the coveted platform for different artistes to showcase their skills, as well as by facilitating an intimate audio-visual experience for art lovers to explore.

Speaking on the partnership with Alara on NöK Audio Labs, ‘Gbenga Onalaja, Head of Marketing at Kora, said “a lot of our marketing at Kora is geared towards dialing up creativity at a higher frequency to connect our users with the emotional side of the brand, Kora. Alara has been an iconic African brand on that creative frequency. Hence this partnership is a perfect shoo-in.
At our core, we are a cultural brand with a mission to open Africa up to the world. One way we serve this purpose is through payments. Other key checkpoints for us are when we create and tap into African cultural moments.”

Ovye, who defined his music genre as Chongai Soul is the first featured artiste in the series. His soulful and inspiring performance is delivered from the sounds of his album, Ramin Tsuliyan Ungwan Pama.

The Alára and Nōk team truly put together a memorable experience, especially for the arts and music lovers and we can’t wait for the next edition. If you missed this edition, check out the full recap video here: