Artists

With 10 female and 13 male artists, Kariakoo Sanaa developed out of what used to be the Zanzibar National Ballet Group in 1979. Due to cultural exchange programmes between Zanzibar and Guinea Conakry, the latter sent tutors to help establish the group. Performing a variety of traditional ngoma from around read more

Karyna Gomes is a singer and songwriter who started at the age of 21 by singing gospel music in 1997 in São Paulo, Brazil, while she studied journalism.

Her passion for music came earlier as she grew up surrounded by musicians in Guinea-Bissau, listening to traditional and urban read more

For women, singing can be the road to personal power. When their voice is as strong as Malian vocalist Khaira Arby's, that power can move mountains, change minds, and win battles. Arby's rich, potent sound aims to do just that, shifting seamlessly between the edgy and progressive and the traditional 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

Kikundi cha Taarab Kizazi Kipya (KIKI) presents a new sound of orchestral taarab music, combining modern and acoustic instruments. They are from Mahonda district, around 25 miles north of Zanzibar town, and have come under the spotlight since Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA Zanzibar) recently opened a branch in Mahonda. read more

The group was formed under the Department of Culture through Zanzibar’s Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports since 1995.

The group comprises many men and women drummers, singers and dancers who maintain, preserve and develop our traditional heritage. They play different kinds of ngoma traditional drumming and dancing from across read more