Skill Sawasawa
Composer · Musician · Creator of YiraFolk

I write music
the way my region tells stories.

I'm Skill Sawasawa. Through YiraFolk, I carry the traditional sound of Eastern DRC into a cinematic, contemporary language for film and documentary work.

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Portrait of Skill Sawasawa
About

I'm a composer and musician, and the creator of YiraFolk — an original musical style that blends the traditional sounds of Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo with a contemporary, cinematic approach.

My practice celebrates African musical heritage, carrying folk instruments and ancestral rhythms into modern composition. Inspired by nature, storytelling, and the richness of African traditions, I create immersive music for film, documentaries, and creative projects — building a bridge between Africa's cultural legacy and today's global sound.

2018 Work begins
3 Partner institutions
2 2025 releases

The Journey

The years behind the work.

My journey runs through training grounds in Goma, Bukavu, Kampala, Nairobi, and Rwanda, toward an internationally recognised film score and a wartime album of resilience.

Beyond these projects, I've worked on several sound projects — films, documentaries, music, commercials, and more — and taken part in introductory training courses on audio production software in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya.


Releases

Listen.

Listen below — I'll keep adding new releases here over time.

In conversation

On YiraFolk, sound as memory, and scoring "Trop c'est Trop."

Watch on YouTube