Artists

Christine Salem's bewitching voice, accompanied by her kayamb (percussive instrument made of reed stems filled with seeds), takes us on a musical journey across the Indian Ocean. Her songs tell of life with all its joy, hardship and struggle, in the purest Creole and the local Malagasy, read more

In 2007 former solo artist Karume Shaabani, also known as Father K, joined together with keyboardist Ali Said to create Cross Border. From 2009 onwards the band of nine has been performing a huge mix of well loved rhythms from the Tanzanian coastal region, such as msondo, read more

Founded in 1958, Culture Musical Club is Zanzibar's most prolific and successful taarab orchestra. The club performs widely at concerts in Zanzibar town, but also frequently travels overland with a fold-up stage and an electricity generator to bring its music to the rural areas. They have released hundreds of songs read more

Guinean singer and composer Djeli Moussa Diawara is foremost among world players of the kora, the African harp-lute of the Manding people of the Senegambia. Born in Guinea in 1962 into a family whose musical roots span generations, his father was a famous player of the balafon read more

Native to Reunion island Groove Lélé have been playing traditional maloya music since 1992, sharing with the world the music first created by an emblematic legend of maloya music Julien Philéas Gramoun Lélé (Grandad Blows up). Among the 12 musicians who composed his group, four of them read more

Consisting of nine artists, Jagwa Music are the leading exponents of the Mchiriku style, which originated 20 years ago in the poor suburbs of Dar es Salaam; when cheap Casio keyboards first became available.

Jagwa Music and their peers were immediately attracted by the Casio’s lo-fi sound, adopted read more