Artists

Utilising traditional rhythms and instruments, Mapacha Africa has brought forth another dimension to popular Kenyan music. The septet traces its beginnings to western Kenya in 1989 when these seven friends were in primary school. Inspired by the sounds they heard from street musicians in their small Kenyan village, Mapacha Africa read more

Biyi Adepegba, Art Director of Joyful Noise Recordings UK and the London African Music Festival has described Leo Mkanyia's music as blues which recalls the wonder of the King of African Blues Ali Farka Toure. Rachel Boyle from New York Times admired the mix of Tanzanian drumming with blues melodies read more

Baikoko has recently become one of the most favoured night entertainments around Dar es Salaam. Baikoko groups play in roadside bars, at weddings or as an added attraction for ‘modern taarab’ nights. The young man who started this recent craze is Juma Hussein, also known as “Maya”.

Baikoko originated in the read more

Mohamed Ilyas embodies the culture and history of the Zanzibar islands like no other. He comes from a great tradition of taarab singers who took the Arabic origin of the art form and transformed it to a uniquely Zanzibar experience. He is firmly grounded in this tradition, with a read more

Established over 70 years ago, Juhudi Taarab is a Zanzibari treasure – a traditional taarab group with members hailing from all regions of Pemba. For nearly three generations, they have kept the taarab tradition alive and currently feature many celebrated artists and composers known throughout the region, such as Malik read more

The Atse Tewodros Project, coordinated by the Ethio-Italian writer-musician-performer Gabriella Ghermandi, is an initiative that forges collaborations between traditional Ethiopian and Italian musicians. The project’s repertoire includes songs from the Ethiopian Resistance that fought against the Italian Fascist Regime. By doing so, it reclaims the past, describes the course of human and read more