Artists

There are many beni bands on the island but this group is one of the best, and a must for any festival. Beni turned the inspiration of colonial military brass bands into a completely local thing, by bringing it into the realm of song and dance competitions. Played mostly at read more

In 1998, with her first album Desert of Eden, the world had the chance to discover in Malouma a talented artist, composer and interpreter, with an extraordinary voice. Her music blends both traditional and modern sounds of Mauritania, where she melds western styles to the Moorish music of the Sahara read more

Back in the 1950s and 60s many regions in Zanzibar including the streets of Stone Town had at least one taarab or kidumbak group. Sadly few remain. However, in the village of Mahonda, on the main road north from Zanzibar Town, since 1993 the KIKI Kidumbaki group has been alive read more

[[[Yunasi wins BBC World Service's Next Big Thing 2007 competition in London http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/thenextbigthing/2007

]]]Yunasi have won the recent BBC Next Big Thing competition. The band was voted "easily the best" from over 2000 acts from 88 countries. Yunasi have also won other major international awards including a 3rd place read more

Debo Band is a nine piece Ethio-groove collective that has quickly earned an ever-growing and enthusiastic following in the USA performing for American, Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. Since 2006, Debo Band has been immersed in the unlikely confluence of traditional East African polyrhythms and pentatonic scales, classic American soul and read more

Olith Ratego was born in Asere Ugenya, Siaya District, Kenya. His interest in music was awakened by his mother, who was a singer of "dodo", a traditional style of Luo music. On occasion, she used to perform for dignitaries, even including the then president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

As a read more