Dawuna

Dawuna is the alias of twenty-six year old Ian Mugerwa Byenkya. Raised in Kenya and Virginia, Mugerwa trained in cello before experimenting with digital audio mixers and electronics in high school, leaving home soon after to join Richmond’s DIY scene. As Dawuna, Mugerwa Byenkya recorded his first album—the raw, transcendent Glass Lit Dream (2020)—in his apartment, quietly self-releasing the record online to word-of-mouth acclaim before it was picked up, remastered, and distributed by London label O___o? last year. Glass Lit Dream conjures a nocturnal feeling and naturally flows from gospel, soul, and R&B to more ambient, electronic, industrial sounds. His lyrics drift in and out of these gloaming soundings, oscillating between incantation and confession. In his live performance at Blank Forms, Dawuna will be joined by Brian Davenport and Noella Mugerwa Byenkya.