Artists

When 20-year-old singer Samba Mapangala boarded the riverboat for Kisangani in 1975, little did he know where it would really be taking him. The young vocalist, one of a quartet of singers in the Kinshasa dance band Saka Saka, was heading with his mates for a tour of Eastern Zaire. read more

TaraJazz, Zanzibar. This exciting young band of musical explorers is on a mission, improvising, sharing and responding to new sounds. At the group’s core is jazz, real, live and uncompromising. This is a unique blend that brings elements of Zanzibari taarab with its Arabic, African and Eastern influences and rhythmical read more

Hanitra is a singer and guitarist from the “red Island” Madagascar. Underpinning her tunes with the charming essence of the island’s rhythms, with hints of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian percussion, she draws on traditional songs to dynamically represent the new Malagasy generation. Her voice, both deep and sensual, leads the way read more

Nawal originally comes from the Comoros Islands. Born into a family with many musicians, Nawal bathed in both popular and spiritual music from a young age. Now living in France, today she is recognised as being a key figure from her native islands: the ever rising star of Comoros.

A singer/songwriter read more

Founded in 1905, Nadi Ikhwan Safaa can probably trace its roots back further than any other orchestra in Africa.

At first, the group played Egyptian and Arabic music. In the early 1950s, they started composing their own songs with Swahili lyrics. Since then, Ikhwan Safaa - or ‘Malindi Taarab’, as they read more

Under the direction of Zakaria Ibrahim, "El Tanbura" was established in 1989. Based in Port Said, at the entrance to the Suez Canal, the troupe is ideally placed to influence positively the status of popular art and its performers in its home area. Although only seven participate in this festival, read more