00:08Ivy Alexander has always had a deep love for the guitar, for music.
00:15In Kenya, she shared stages with some of the country's biggest bands,
00:20building a name, a career, a life. But then she made a life-changing move to the United Kingdom.
00:27So why did she choose to walk away from it all?
00:33I'd been in the Kenyan music industry for about ten years,
00:36to get to the point where I was playing the big stages.
00:39I'm a guitarist and recording musician from Nairobi, Kenya, but currently based in South Enonsi.
00:46Being a musician in Nairobi, first of all, has been amazing.
00:49I've gotten the opportunity to be in loads and loads of amazing bands.
00:53But somewhere along my journey, I applied for a few residencies.
01:00Abroad is nice. The musical landscape is so broad and wide.
01:06We grew up in a church setting, so most of all I know is from church music.
01:13As a female guitarist in a space that is still largely male-dominated,
01:17she's had to hold her ground and prove herself while stepping into a new music scene.
01:23Beyond the music, she has had to learn to thrive in unfamiliar territory and rebuild from the ground up.
01:30And through it all, there's a constant question beneath the surface.
01:34What is she willing to risk to achieve her dreams?
01:37The hardest bit, to be honest, about being in the UK is the community and getting used to the different
01:45culture.
01:46Yeah, I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss the food.
01:51So just, it was a major, complete life adjustment.
01:55Back in Kenya, Ivy was part of an all-female band called The Flower Project.
02:01It was here that she found community, sisterhood and created memories she still carries with her.
02:14My name is Oli Carmen, I'm a drummer and a friend of Ivy's.
02:18My name is Mutindi, Tindi Mwasa, I'm a bassist and a keyboard player.
02:24And also a friend of Miss Alexander.
02:31Hi.
02:32Hi, Miss Alexander.
02:34So you want to tell us that you do not miss us?
02:37Do you miss home?
02:38I really miss home, to be honest.
02:41And where are you actually going for you?
02:44I guess now is when I feel like I'm more settled in.
02:47Do you feel like leaving was worth it?
02:51I don't think you'd ever regret anything progressive that you decided to do for your life.
02:56I guess the first case when I was really thinking about, I was like, man, did I really make the
03:02right decision?
03:03You think you'll come back?
03:05Of course.
03:06Therefore, I don't think Kenya is home.
03:09I've been stretched mentally, emotionally, physically, musically.
03:14All these experiences, all you know, have also brought me way towards God.
03:19Playing with Ivy was so cool.
03:22We grew up in the industry together.
03:25I miss her music critique.
03:28And just her skill in interpreting music.
03:32Over time, Ivy's relationship with the guitar deepened.
03:37The focus became more precise, more intentional.
03:40Every note started to carry more weight.
03:42And somewhere in between, a new sound began taking shape.
03:47I wrote Sutton Road at a point where I felt like I was letting go of Kenya and trying to
03:54embrace the UK.
03:55So my main inspiration is just that.
03:57What began as a personal search for meaning has become a bridge between cultures.
04:02There's a whole interlude that has like a very African influenced feel.
04:07And besides that, I mean, the rest of the chords are just, you know, a mix of all my inspirations.
04:18I think right now I'm more intentional about what I choose to play.
04:24I feel like I know what my sound is.
04:27Touring across Europe and Australia with artists like Tonina Saputo
04:32and appearing as a guest guitarist on select shows with Yousef Days, Ivy has reached new audiences.
04:39Today, she takes the stage in the UK as a guitarist who's still finding her place in a new musical
04:45landscape.
04:49We're under Fickle Fickle. We're playing pop rock music, yeah.
05:01She adds a whole other element to the songs.
05:04So yeah, like, as soon as she sent me through the parts that she'd come up with, I was like,
05:10I love it.
05:11And I knew she was good already.
05:15Across Africa and the diaspora, more female instrumentalists are beginning to claim space,
05:21not as backing acts, but as composers, band leaders and collaborators,
05:26shaping the direction of contemporary music itself.
05:29And Ivy is part of that shift.
05:32As a musician, I'm aiming to fulfill my full potential,
05:36play at huge festivals, possibly win a Grammy.
05:41Ivy Alexander did not come to the UK to erase where she came from.
05:45If anything, distance has sharpened it.
05:48Now her guitar carries traces of Nairobi into a music scene that's constantly searching for what comes next.
05:55The world is a world to work.
05:55They are just an active group,
05:55The world is a world to live.
05:56That's a world to live.
05:57The world is a world to live.
05:57What, where you are?
05:57The world is a world to live.
