Traditional music
Music is at the heart of Zanzibar life. It is at the heart of all ceremonies and accompanies the great rituals and milestones of life, such as births, weddings and so on. Wherever you are on the island, music resonates.
Starting with the haunting sounds of the taarab. A pillar of Zanzibarite identity, this crossbred music, a fusion of styles combining sung African poetry, percussion and string instruments inherited from Egypt, Western India and Bantu rites, tells the story of a country at the crossroads of the spice route. His lyrics celebrate love, and he is usually accompanied by a full orchestra of up to 40 instruments, including string instruments such as the zither, oud, violin and cello, as well as accordions and neys (a Persian flute), and a whole collection of handcrafted percussion instruments. The taarab is traditionally played at weddings, or at local and family celebrations. Irresistible, it prompts all guests to clap their hands to the beat in front of an audience of dancers. It's worth pointing out that - in a very traditional society where gender inequalities are still very strong - two of taarab's most influential stars are women: Siti Binti Saad and Bi Kidude. The former (1880-1950) is THE taarab legend. Embodying this music for almost a century, the "mother of taarab" was, as early as the 1920s, the first to produce commercial titles in Arabic and Swahili, thus extending the influence of this music to an international sphere of listeners. Siti Binti Saad was a pioneer, both as the first East African woman to record her own music - producing over 100 records in her lifetime - and as the woman who opened up the recording industry to the women of the East African taarab community. The other great taarab name is Bi Kidude (1910-2013). Famous for her longevity and musical talent, she embodied the taarab for over 80 years alongside Siti Binti Saad, imprinting the genre with her distinctive voice. In the younger generation, Siti Muharam, great-granddaughter of the legend Siti Binti Saad, is remarkable for her willingness to plunge tradition into modernity. Then there's Siti Amina, a charismatic oud player and singer, also heiress to Siti Binti Saad in her own way, who brings together multiple Zanzibari aesthetics such as Ngoma and Zenji Flava. It is these artists, icons and members of the young guard alike, who take Taarab culture on the road, wherever Swahili is spoken. As the genre is an important part of their social life, it can also be heard in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Anyone interested in the genre should check out Zanzibar musical club. This 85-minute Franco-German documentary, released in 2009 and directed by Philippe Gasnier and Patrice Nezan, plunges the viewer into the heart of taarab music, including a close-up look at the legend Bi Kidude, who was well into his nineties at the time. A must-see! In addition to this film, the best way to explore the taarab is to go to one of the excellent clubs in Stone Town. There are three major clubs in the capital: Ikhwan Safaa Club ("brothers who love each other"), Culture Musical Club and DCMA (Dhow Country Music Academy). The first was founded in 1905. It is home to Zanzibar's oldest orchestra, whose origins go back further than any other in Africa. It has carried the taarab throughout the 20th century. Every famous musician in Zanzibar has played here at some point in his career. Its sound is fairly traditional, combining delicate poetry, remarkable performances, sophisticated vocal flourishes directly linked to its Arab roots and finely chiseled melodies. The walls of the studio club, where members gather to play, are lined with old photos tracing the club's history and honoring its legends, past and present. The club has exported to prestigious concerts in Kenya, Burundi, Oman, Dubai and London. The second, Culture Musical Club, is more recent. Founded in 1958, it was created by the Shirazi Party Afro to free the island from Arab domination. Today, the Culture Musical Club contains not only the largest, but also one of the most prolific orchestras in Zanzibar, having developed a unique style. It performs not only in the city, but also in the surrounding countryside, making it so popular. Since 1988, hundreds of songs have been composed by this orchestra. The band has also been performing regularly in Europe since 1996, a success story equivalent to that of the Buena Vista Social Club and featured in the above-mentioned documentary. Since then, the members' rehearsals in the club have become something of a tourist attraction. The last excellent address in town is not so much a club as a school - the island's one and only professional music school. The DCMA (for Dhow Country Music Academy) was founded in 2002 by an NGO and renowned musician Mohamed Issa Haji (commonly known as "Matona") to preserve, develop and promote the musical heritage of Zanzibar and the Swahili coast. Nearly 600 students study traditional Swahili music and experiment with more "fusion" styles than other clubs - which is how it has helped to bring a real revival to the genre - as it is a center for international and national artist residencies, creative workshops and musical encounters. You'll find its members playing every day at the Rooftop, a nearby restaurant in Stone Town. Don't miss this show - every day from 8 p.m. to midnight - it's free and offers different styles: some evenings more kidumbak-oriented or more modern and fusion, " extravaganza " or " asilia ".
Visit kidumbak is a style similar to taarab, more popular with the underprivileged. Used to produce the latest fashionable hits, many youngsters try their hand in groups before being admitted to the more prestigious circles of taarab orchestras. A solo instrument takes care of the melody, often a violin (played quite frenetically), accompanied by a sanduku (a home-made double bass), two small clay percussion instruments (ki-dumbak) and various other percussive instruments. The music is more rhythmic than taarab, the dance more sensual, and the lyrics less drastic than taarab's poetic songs. During weddings, the singer must be able to follow Ngoma rhythms while improvising lyrics in praise of the bride and groom. Throughout the ceremony, the intensity of the music builds to a crescendo as the songs progress, and the interaction between musicians, dancers and guests singing backing vocals becomes increasingly festive. Sina Chuki Kidumbak is a popular ensemble in this genre.
The island's other major dance movement is ngoma. This Swahili word for "percussion" encompasses all forms of rhythmic dance and games, and celebrates life and culture. There are many variations in Tanzania, some of which originate from Unguja and Pemba. Each tribe has its own style of ngoma, with songs, traditional costumes (usually a sophisticated dress) and specific percussion instruments. The marimba is the traditional percussion of Bantu ngoma rhythms. It consists of a small rectangular wooden resonance box on which iron rods are mounted in descending order of size. You can hear and see ngoma at the famous Monsoon Restaurant, Stone Town's most famous establishment. Here, the discovery of Swahili culture is as much about the food as the music, and the place programs ngoma music every Tuesday and Friday evening. The Vieux Fort Arabe is also often the venue for ngoma and taarab performances and, of course, you'll also hear them at the DCMA.
A derivative of ngoma, let's not forget to mention theunyagoa musical form played for Swahili brides before marriage. This ceremony teaches make-up, sexual intimacy and cooking, with very explicit movements and words to initiate young girls into giving pleasure to their husbands. Bi Kidude, the star of Zanzibar music, often played it. There's also beni, originally created to poke fun at English colonial military bands, whose groups originally performed at weddings and street parades in burlesque costumes.
Zanzibar's musical tradition is particularly rich, and the Sati Za Busara festival, held in February in Stone Town, offers an excellent overview. This four-day event, one of the biggest in East Africa, was created in 2003 to promote traditional and contemporary music, and has been a phenomenal success. Since it's free, all the locals come to Stone Town to enjoy it. It begins with a parade through the town, a sort of carnival with stilt-walkers, acrobats, percussionists and the Beni brass band, which moves from the dala dala terminal to the waterfront. Around 400 artists perform in over 40 concerts on 3 stages each year.
Current music
Passion for the taarab waned over time, and in the 1990s young people began to turn to pop and bongo flava, Tanzanian hip-hop. Strongly influenced by American rap, it also incorporates elements of dancehall, reggae, afrobeat, R'n'B and traditional Taarab musical instruments to offer a unique flavor. While this alternative, musically rich movement initially denounced corruption, poverty and social injustice, and advocated militancy, the style has drifted - following in the footsteps of its American big brother - towards a more stereotyped, sales-oriented, self-tuned and even low-quality genre. Since the age of the pioneers, epitomized by Mr. II, the author of Bongo Flava's first hit in 1995, Ni Mimi, numerous stars have energized the genre, including Juma Nature, Jay Moe, Dully Sykes and, more recently, Ali Kiba, Diamond Platnumz and Vanessa Mdee.
Although very popular in the country, bongo flava has seen the development of a purely Zanzibari version called zenji flava. Also born in the 1990s, it resembles bongo flava in every way, the main difference between the two sub-genres being that the Zanzibar counterpart contains a certain Taarab influence.
Reggae and ndombolo, a dance music from the Congo, are also particularly popular in Zanzibar.
