Kerim Melik Becker aka Kechou

Kerim Melik Becker aka Kechou is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, writer and producer. He grew up in the hustle and bustle of Berlin with an Algerian musician and studio owner and a German writer. Kerim has been studying African music for a number of years and has produced and performed with various jazz-infected hip-hop and afro-fusion experiments in Germany, but also in different parts of Africa.

His music represents a collision and fusion of two worlds that cannot be combined without friction and tension, creating harmony in his expression and innovative creative process. He builds live loops, fusing organic, acoustic, handcrafted instruments with electronic sounds, creating hypnotic, healing rhythms and grooves that hit the mark.
Kerim has written a variety of songs with various stylistic influences, acquired significant skills in music production, has a broad cultural knowledge of popular music in Europe and Africa, and plays numerous instruments.

From 2007 to 2018 Kerim was part of the jazz influenced hip hop crew Zaunkönig in Berlin. In 2012 he developed a project with MCs and beatboxers in Kampala. At the end of 2016 he completed a residency with master musician Matchume Zango in Mozambique. From April 2017 he founded the project INYE together with the Colombian drummer Jorge Sepúlveda, with whom he performed in South Africa and Uganda. Around the same time, Kerim began his loop-based collaboration with Gugulethu Duma (Dumama) in Cape Town. Since then the duo has performed in various cities in South Africa. Kerim has also ventured into live performance collaborations with dancers and choreographers Adriana Jamisse and Julia de Rosenwerth. He also worked in South Africa with Madala Kunene and Leraba Morena. In early 2019, Dumama & Kechou completed a residency in Gautheng, where they recorded the majority of their forthcoming EP.