A Project Rooted in Relationship
between canada and kenya
MusicBridge Hive × Metipso Portal Kenya is not a fly-in project and not a distant intervention. It is a relationship that has been growing for two years through calls, recordings, improvisations, conversations, and the exchange of music between Canada and Kenya.
Metipso Portal is an experimental media laboratory housed in a traditional Kalenjin mud hut in the highlands of central Kenya. Its work brings modern and ancient technologies into conversation so that voices from remote communities can be heard beyond their borders. In partnership with its founder, visionary artist Joel Richardson, Margaret Maria is co-creating the Metipso Sound Lab: a new platform and label for cinematic, collaborative music that begins in community and can travel into the world.
From Chant to Cinematic Sound
exchange from a distance into a shared space
The project began with a recording experiment. Maasai singers and Metipso community members shared chants and vocal material, captured by Metipso’s sound and youth team. The recordings were sent to Margaret Maria, who composed and produced new music from them - music that honours the energy of the original voices while opening a new sonic space around them.
Those first tracks are now inspiring remixes and fresh collaborations with Nairobi artists and producers Skoko, Maaga, and Dillie. The November journey takes that exchange from distance into shared physical space: studios, rehearsals, performances, conversations, and the lived work of creating together.
The new releases will launch through the Metipso Sound Lab label and will be developed for film and screen licensing, helping the music find wider audiences and establishing a foundation for future artist-led collaboration.
The Cello: An Instrument for the Future
a 'forging new pathways' instrument
A Forte3D carbon-fibre cello will travel with Margaret Maria from Canada to Kenya. It is more than an instrument. It is the project’s central object and a symbol of its purpose: a contemporary carbon-fibre form carrying the resonance of a centuries-old voice.
Forte3D instruments unite performance-focused carbon-fibre construction with the possibility of custom printed artwork. For this journey, the cello will receive an original visual design incorporating the logos of founding sponsors and partners. It will become a moving canvas of support- seen in studios, schools, performances, photographs, films, and future concerts.
November 2026: The Journey on the Ground
Margaret Maria will begin in Nairobi, where she will work in studios with local producers and artists, including Skoko, Maaga, and Dillie, to complete new recordings and remixes. The program will include a performance with the One Fine Day program near Kibera, opening space for music-making at the edge of one of Nairobi’s most vibrant and complex communities.
She will then travel to Eldama Ravine and Metipso, staying in the Metipso mud hut as part of a shared period of rehearsing, recording, teaching, and creating. Public performances, community exchange, and cello introduction for a local student will be woven into the visit. An intended meeting at the Canadian Embassy in Nairobi will offer an opportunity to share the project’s approach to cultural exchange and artist-led social innovation.
Help Bring the Bridge to Life
We are raising $30,000 CAD to make the November 2026 journey and the launch of the Metipso Sound Lab label possible. Funding will purchase the Forte3D cello, cover international and in-country travel, Nairobi accommodation, local lodging and hospitality, ground transportation, studio work, project documentation, releases, and foundational label costs.
Your support helps fund |
Why it matters |
Forte3D carbon-fibre cello and custom design |
The instrument becomes a practical creative tool, a teaching resource, a performance voice, and a visible canvas for founding sponsors. |
Travel and ground transportation |
Sustained in-person collaboration, performance, recording, and relationship-building across Nairobi, Eldama Ravine, and Metipso. |
Accommodation and local hospitality |
A respectful, workable structure for being present with collaborators before, during, and after the rural exchange. |
Studios, recording, and production |
Completion of new tracks, remixes, and release-ready work with Kenyan artists and producers. |
Metipso Sound Lab label foundation and Social Innovation |
A pathway for these first releases - and future community-rooted work - to reach audiences, screen projects, and licensing opportunities. |
Become a Founding Sponsor
Founding partners will receive meaningful recognition, including the opportunity for logo placement on the custom-designed cello, visibility across selected project communications and releases, and a direct connection to a growing international story of music, innovation, education, and social change.
Why This Matters Now
The world needs more than promises of connection. It needs artists and communities creating together across real differences, with listening, respect, and shared authorship.
MusicBridge Hive × Metipso Portal Kenya turns that belief into action—using music to build peace through contact, reconciliation through listening, and social change through imagination and innovation.
