Martin Murimi, known by the stage name Papillon, is one of the few musicians who are reviewing African cultural music in a fresh, contemporary way by redesigning the form of traditional instruments.

Some time back, his inability to get the resonance he was searching for inspired him to create new musical instruments using recycled materials. “I wanted to make more sounds, to be unique to my listener,” said Papillon.

Dressed in flowing African print robes, Papillon, 29, recently dazzled audiences at the International School of Kenya in Nairobi with a selection of original songs played on hand-made harps and other instruments. The most impressive of them was a giant contraption called a “tubefone.”

It is made thick metal pipes of different lengths joined together and mounted on a wheeled base. The tubefone produces a low, bassline sound with a percussive effect.

It took Papillon five months to build the tubefone, that this is not the first instrument he has created. The first was a kalimba (thumb piano) attached to a old lampshade, on which he composed his earlier songs.

His other instruments are based on traditional lyres, instruments with 7-10 strings and curved wooden frames, different versions of which are found in communities along the River Nile and in East Africa. Examples are the adungu harp of the Alur people in Uganda and the nyatiti of the Luo of Kenya.

In 2015 Papillon fashioned a lyre that incorporated two kalimbas attached to a calabash wrapped in Uganda bark cloth, and a slanted frame inspired by the ancient Egyptian golden lyre of Ur.

He named it Anywal Abel, meaning “a caring parent” in the Acholi language of Uganda. To date he has created six African musical instruments from discarded materials and cultural items.

As a child Papillon was fascinated with caterpillars and the way they transformed into butterflies. This is what inspired the stage name Papillon, which means “butterfly” in French. Like a butterfly, his life has been marked by drastic changes.

Born in Embu, central Kenya, Papillon came to Nairobi after primary school in search of his absentee father. The reunion was short-lived and Murimi ended up living on the streets at the age of 13, surviving on odd jobs and later as an apprentice to a cobbler.

A good Samaritan introduced him to the Dagoretti Child in Need Project, a rehabilitation centre for street children run by Amref Kenya. He finally resumed school and it was here that Papillon first played a musical instrument. He joined the Juakali Drummers, a group that taught young people music, dance and how to make instruments from recycled materials.

The newest version of Papillon’s harp is the “daughter of Ur,” which blends North and East African instruments. Mwari wa Oru has 16 strings that represent the joining together of two people to create a family.

Papillon is inspired by music from across East, North and the Horn of Africa. He aims to create sounds that have universal appeal because he believes that music is unlimited. He is in the process of putting together an album and planning more performances later in the year.