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

Maulidi Juma started singing in the 1960s and formed his original Mombasa Musical Party in 1972. The group has released more than 40 Recordings and continues to be one of the most popular groups of Kenyan coastal taarab. Their music exemplifies the Mombasa sound which shows the influence of Indian read more

Sanaa Taarab was born in 1983, after the then Zanzibar Ballet group stopped its activities. In its early years the group managed to perform by borrowing equipment from Culture Musical Club, with whom they have a long and positive relationship. Currently the group has twenty artists who are employed by read more

There are not many bands whose music has been so pervasive that a new genre has been named after them. Such is the case with Young Stars’ Segere - the 2001 hit song that lent its name to both the style and also the band.

 Segere is especially noteworthy read more

Hadhramaut has a long history of association with the maritime routes between the Swahili Coast of Africa, the Arab World and India, absorbing centuries of musical and cultural influences. The music of this part of the Republic of Yemen is rich in rhythms and varieties of instruments with songs and read more

Seven Survivor is one of Dar es Salaam's leading exponents playing mchiriku, a style of music that has been extremely popular around the poor areas of Dar es Salaam, Coastal and Morogoro regions for more than twenty years. This group is currently rated the second in popularity after Jagwa Music. read more