Cocodo African Music Band
Country Tanzania Genres acoustic band fusion traditional Website www.cocodoafricanmusic.com Festival Sauti za Busara 2015, 2017 Recordings 📼 Massawe, 2013; Agwe Mwana, 2013; Mambo, 2013; Shomari, 2013; Mdundiko, 2015; Imbange, 2015
Cocodo plays an exhilarating blend of Afro beat fusion - laced with jazz and Tanzanian rhythms - in the traditional Panyenje style. And with the recent addition of 2 contemporary trained dancers, their live performances have been described as pulsating and euphoric!
Hailing from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Cocodo was formed in 2010. Their message is about giving back to society and creating awareness on different issues that affect Tanzanian communities, such as malaria, HIV and autism. They also sing about their beautiful homeland - MAMA AFRICA - and the joy of growing up in Tanzania! Their lyrics are in Swahili and other Tanzanian languages.
Instruments used include marimba, Tanzanian drums, West African djembe, guitars, keyboards, traditional flutes and zeze. The band has performed in various local and international festivals such as ZIFF, and the recent Smart Partnership Dialogue in Dar es Salaam.
Cocodo is concerned to see that the number of young musicians learning and advocating for their African musical roots is diminishing. Most young people are either unaware of their musical roots or are put in a corner where they have no other choice except to make poor copies of western pop music. This is not the case for Cocodo. They work hard to keep Tanzanian music alive.
Recent career highlights include the song “Gwe Mwana” being included on the movie soundtrack for “Sunshine”. In 2014, the same track was nominated for Best Traditional Song at the Kilimanjaro Music Awards. The video clip for “Mpola Mpola” (produced by Veescape Films) was submitted to various international film festivals.
All members of Cocodo band are presently on a two-year music placement at CEFA Tanzania. They aim to record and release a CD in the coming months.
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