Artists

Matona's Cultural Band is comprised of musicians from Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. Mohamed Issa Haji 'Matona' is one of Zanzibar's most legendary musicians. He is a teacher at the Dhow Countries Music Academy and has been performing music for over 40 years. 

 For the past two years Matona read more

The G Clef Taarab Orchestra performs regularly in the bars, dance halls, clubs and at weddings. In a drive to revive the variety of musical genres from the dhow countries region,  it demonstrates its musical versatility through genres such as modern taarab, mgodro, salege, chakacha, sega and mbiwi.

The read more

Welcome to one of the world's best kept secrets. The Maulidi ya Homu from Mtendeni, Zanzibar is a visually spectacular and spiritually uplifting experience. In the 21st Century only three groups remain in the world still practicing this religious art form, all based in Zanzibar. 

 Maulidi ya Homu read more

Mcharuko is a young and talented band of students from Zanzibar’s Dhow Countries Music Academy.  They are a vibrant and upbeat band, as their name in Swahili suggests, playing different genres of music such as pop, jazz, taarab and fusion.

The band formed in 2015 to perform regular read more

The idea for this group was born from Matona's desire to return to the roots of the traditional music of his childhood: the sounds and music played by the many inhabitants from Comoros who lived around Stone Town. Thanks to funding from Alliance Francaise and Japanese Trust, Matona was able read more

Soulful, soaring, deep, and divine, Mim's presence and music is a blessing.
Mim Suleiman has been described as a pint sized performer with a planet sized personality. She sings Afro-beat mixed with global fusion, mostly in her native Swahili, with occasional detours into English and other languages such as Fulani. read more