Contents
Part 1: Africa
map of countries and styles covered 3
Algeria | Rai 5
rocking the casbah
by Andy Morgan and Chris Nickson
Oran: Where It All Began 6; Chaabi in Algiers 7;
Women, Dock-Workers and Street Urchins 7;
Cheikha Remitti 9; Independence and the Jazz
Age 10; Hick Music Goes Pop 11; Cassette Chebs
13; Khaled, the King of Rai 14; Rachid Taha 16;
Courage Under Fire 16; Rai Today 17
Algeria | Kabylia 22
berber spring
by Andy Morgan and Catherine Elias
Exile and Protest 23; Women on the Verge 24;
Celtic Connections 24; Another Tribe, Another
Mountain 24
Angola 27
unstoppable rhythms
by Bram Posthumus
The Early Years 28; The Shattering of Dreams 29;
Bonga: the Voice of Angola 29; Waldemar Bastos:
the Heart that Spans the World 30; New Styles 31;
Victor Gama 31
Benin & Togo 35
afro-funksters
by François Bensignor
Benin Rockers 36; Traditions 37; Beninois Music
Abroad 37; Angélique Kidjo: Keep On Moving 38;
Music Market Woes 39; Togo 39
Botswana 43
khoisan to pop
by Rampholo Molefhe
Traditional Sounds 44; The Dawn of Popular Music
44; The Modern Era 45
Burkina Faso 47
hidden treasure, hip-hop hopes
by François Bensignor
A Multitude of Traditions 48; Urban Music 49;
Festivals 49
Cameroon 52
the awakening lions
by Jean-Viktor Nkolo, Graeme Ewens and
Alain Marius Mouafo Wemba
Recording Roots 53; Manu Dibango: Cameroon’s
Musical Ambassador 54; Makossa 55; Bikutsi’s
Essential Thrust 55; Cameroon Today 57; Richard
Bona: a Bona Fide Star 58
Cape Verde 62
music of sweet sorrow
by Osvaldo dos Reis, Susana Máximo, David
Peterson and Jon Lusk
The Morna 63; Cesaria Evora: the Barefoot Diva
64; Coladeira 65; Funana 65; Eugénio Tavares 66;
Batuco and Finaçon 67; International Stars 67;
Simentera: Return to Roots 68; Cape Verdeans in
the USA 69; Festivals 69
Congo 74
heart of danceness
by Graeme Ewens
Soukousemantics 75; Rumba Roots 76; The Belle
Époque 77; Francofile 78; Riding the New Wave 79;
Papa Wemba: God Sees All 80; Party Time in Paris
81; Kinshasa in the 1990s 82; New Directions 83;
Ndombolo and Beyond 83
Côte d’Ivoire 91
zouglou to cut’n’run
by François Bensignor, Brooke Wentz and Soro
Solo
Live and Local 92; Ziglibithy 93; Zouglou 93; One-
Way Ticket to the Top 93; Reggae and Rap 94;
Cut‘n’run 95
Equatorial Guinea 99
malabo blues
by Manuel Dominguez
Fang Traditions 100; Pop Styles 100; The Diaspora
101
Eritrea 103
songs of the patriots
by Dawit Mesfin
MaTA 104; Party Time 104; Guayla Royalty 105;
Ambassadors and Icons 105; Love’s Labour’s Lost
106
Ethiopia 108
land of wax and gold
by Francis Falceto
Trad/Mod and the Golden Age 109; Wax and Gold
110; New Styles 111; Live in Addis: Azmaris 111;
Ali Tango 111; The Harp of King David 112; Future
Shock 113; Music Shops in Addis 113
Gabon 117
cranning the night away
by Philip Sweeney
Cults and Traditions 118; Congolese Rumba and
Army Bands 118; Renovation Cha Cha and Zouk
119; Pierre Akendengué: Ethnomusicology as Art
119; Patience Dabany and the Bongo Dynasty 120;
Cranning the Night Away 120
Ghana 123
from highlife to hiplife
by John Collins and Ronnie Graham
Highlife Roots 124; Dance-Band Highlife 124; Palm
Wine Music: Buy the Man a Drink 125; Concerted
Efforts 126; Guitar-Band Highlife 127; E.T. Mensah
127; Osibisa 128; 1970s Afro-Fusions and Back-to-
Roots 128; Economic Collapse and the Highlife
Diaspora 129; Ghanaians Abroad 129; Gospel and
Reggae since the 1980s 130; The Hiplife Boom 131;
Sankofa: Back to the Roots 131; Who’s the Daddy?
131; “Classical” Highlife Survives 133
Guinea 136
move over mali
by Katharina Lobeck
The Kings’ Singers 137; The Futa Jallon 138; Modern
Music Begins 139; The Independence Era
140; Bembeya Jazz 141; Syliphone Records 142;
New Identities: the 1980s and 90s 144; Guinea in
the World 146; Mory Kanté 147; The Music Scene
Diversifies 148
Guinea-Bissau 153
backyard beats of gumbe
by Guus de Klein and Bram Posthumus
Backyard Beats 154; Ethnic Traditions 154; Music
and Independence 155; The 1980s on a Shoestring
156; The 1990s: Survival and War 156; Bidinte 157;
Manecas Costa and the Gumbe 158
Indian Ocean 163
a lightness of touch
by Graeme Ewens, Alain Courbis and Werner
Graebner
The Comoros 164; Mauritius 165; La Réunion 165;
Granmoun Lélé: Pure Dynamite 166; The Seychelles
166
Kenya 171
the life and times of Kenyan pop
by Doug Paterson
Kenya’s Tribal Music 173; The Early Days 174; Finger-
Pickin’ Good 174; Benga Wizards 175; Luhya
Legends 176; Kikuyu: Prayers for the Country 176;
Kamba Calliope 177; Congolese & Swahili: Big-
Name Bands 178; Immigration Department 178;
Wanyika Dynasty 180; Hakuna Matata… 181;
Ndiyo Hiyo Video! 182; New Directions 182
Liberia 188
music from the ashes
by Bram Posthumus
Traditions and Choirs 189; Sweet Liberia: Pre-War
Songs 189; War and Exodus 190; Back on its Feet?
190; One Producer’s Story 191
Libya 193
a cultural crossroads
by Robert Nurden
From Folk to Progressives 194; Politics and Pop
Songs 195; Ma’luf 195; Desert Blues 196
Madagascar 197
a parallel universe
by Ian Anderson
Highland Hitmakers 198; Half-Green and Salegy
199; Traditional Instruments 200; Sounds of the
South 200; Famadihana: Reburial Parties 202;
Malagasy Guitar: a Word With Bouboul 203; Where
to Find Music in Antananarivo 204; Westernization
and Back to Roots 204; Music Under Ravalomanana
206
Malawi 211
sounds afroma!
by John Lwanda
Banjos, Jazz and the Malawi Beat 212; From Kwasa
Kwasa to Nyambo 213; Ethnographer’s Corner
213; Live in Malawi! 214
Mali 219
gold dust by the river
by Lucy Duran
Music for Sundays 220; Sumu and Sandiya 220;
Girl Power, Mali Style 221; Kandia Kouyaté 222;
Mande History 223; Mande’s Hereditary Musicians
223; Jeli Languages and Instruments 224; From
Mali to Mississippi … and Back 225; Regional
Styles and Repertoires 226; Dance Bands and
Cultural Authenticity 227; The Rail Band vs Les
Ambassadeurs 227; Old Music, New Era 228; Salif
Keita: Mali’s Superstar 229; Current Trends 230;
Wassoulou 231; Ali Farka Touré: the Donkey That
Nobody Climbed On 231; Hunters’ Music 232; Birth
of the Kamalengoni 232; Wassoulou Women 233;
Oumou Sangaré: the Songbird 233
Mauritania & Western
Sahara 239
the modes of the moors
by Matthew Lavoie
Moorish Music 240; The Birth of Modern Music
241; Sahrawi Sounds from the Refugee Camps
241; Jakwar 242; The Current Scene 243; Haratin
Music 243; Malouma Mint Meidah and Mauritanian
‘Pop’ 242; Afro-Mauritanians 243; Pulaar Music
244; Sounds of the Soninke 244
Morocco 248
a basic expression of life
by David Muddyman, Andy Morgan and
Matthew Lavoie
Berber Music 249; Festivals in Morocco 250; Rwaïs
251; Andalous Music 251; The Nuba 251; Milhûn
252; Gharnati 253; Moussem Madness 253; Sufi
and Gnawa Music 254; Gnawa 254; Chaabi and
Fusion 254; Al’aïta 255; Roots-Fusion 255; From
Egypt to Morocco … and Back 255; Najat Aatabou
256; Berber Power 257; International Fusion 257;
Moroccan Cassettes 258; Rai, Rap and Rock 259;
Sephardic Music 259
Mozambique 265
a musica continua
by Celso Paco and Tom Bullough
Coastal Music: Timbila 267; Marrabenta Pulse 267;
Dilon Djindji: King of Marrabenta 268; Jazz-Fusion
269; Sounds Today 269; The Musical Diaspora 271
Namibia 275
little brother struggle
by Minette Mans
‘Patches’ of Practice 276; Imported Sounds 277;
Looking for a Revolution 278; Festivals 278
Niger & Touareg 280
sounds of the sahel
by François Bensignor
A Map of Niger 281; Cultural Policy 281; Touareg
Rockers and Desert Blues 282; Hopping Youth
Clubs 283
Nigeria 287
africa’s stumbling giant
by Andrew Frankel
Nigerian Uniqueness 288; Nigerian Peoples 288;
Instruments 289; Juju 290; Nigeria’s Record Industry
291; Highlife Nigeria Style 292; Traditional Pop
and Apala 293; Fuji Fever 294; Waka 295; Fela Kuti
and Afro-beat 295; From Kalakuta to Kakadu:
Shanties, Shrines and Nite-spots 296; Praise Singing
the Big Boss 297; Nigeria Abroad 298; Reggae,
Hip-hop, Rap and Beyond 299; In a Suburb Near
You… 300; Future Grooves 300
Pygmy Music 304
forest songs from the congo basin
by Dave Abram and Jerome Lewis
Pygmy Polyphony 306; Music in Forest Life 307;
Listening to the Forest 307; Beyond the Forest
308; Pygmy Fusion 308; The Baka Music House
309; Survival 310
Rwanda & Burundi 313
echoes from the hills
by Dorian Hayes and Karengera Eric Soul
Traditional Music 314; The Drummers of Burundi
and Ballet Inganzo 315; Cécile Kayirebwa and the
Rwandan Diaspora 316; Contemporary Music in
Rwanda 317; New Music in Burundi 318
São Tomé & Príncipe 321
island music of central africa
by Caroline Shaw and Emile Chabal
Rhythms and Dance 322; Modern Music 323
Senegal & The
Gambia 326
a tale of two countries
by Mark Hudson, Doudou Sarr, Paul Hayward
and Lucy Duran
Mande Senegambia 327; Wolof Traditions and
Negritude 327; Dance Music: the 1960s and Star
Band 328; Gambian Traditions and Developments
328; Orchestra Baobab: Still Growing 330; Dakar
Superstar: the Rise of Youssou N’Dour 331; Jazz,
Funk and the Faye Brothers 331; The Ups and
Downs of Youssou N’Dour 332; Seck and Lô 333;
The Man from the North: Baaba Maal 334; Baaba
Maal 335; A World Apart: Casamance Hothouse
336; Female Performers 336; Rap and New Directions
336; Sene-Rap 339
Sierra Leone 345
from palm wine to protest
by Bram Posthumus, Ed Ashcroft and Richard
Trillo
Palm wine and Milo 346; A Brief Golden Era 347;
Exile and Revival 347
South Africa | Popular
Music 351
nation of the voice
by Rob Allingham and Gregory Mthembu-
Salter
Deep Roots 352; The West, Urbanization, Marabi
and Jive 353; A Music Industry 353; The Producers
354; Pennywhistle Jive: the Kwela Boom 355; From
Sax Jive to Vocal Mbaqanga 356; Zulu Acapella:
Mbube and Iscathamiya 358; Ladysmith Black
Mambazo 359; Neo-Traditional Styles 360; Sotho
and Pedi-Traditional 360; Zulu-Traditional 360;
Shangaan/Tsonga-Traditional 361; Local Soul 362;
White South African Music 363; Bubblegum 364;
Brenda Fassie – Africa’s Pop Goddess 365; Kwaito
Kulture 366; The Divas 367; Urban Roots 368; Cape
Hop 369; Reggae 370
South Africa | Jazz 377
hip kings, hip queens
by Rob Allingham and Gwen Ansell
Swing 378; The Jazz Singers 379; Progressive Jazz:
the 1960s 379; Mama Africa 380; Still Grazin’: Hugh
Masekela 381; Meanwhile, Back Home… 382; …
And Today? 383; Zim Ngqawana 384
South Africa | Gospel 389
I've got the power
by Gregory Mthembu-Salter
Star Voices 390; Live Witness 391
Southern Africa |
Archives 393
hugh tracey: pioneer archivist
by Mark Hudson
Looking Back 394
Sudan 397
still yearning to dance
by Peter Verney, Helen Jerome and Moawia
Yassin
The North 398; Early Days and Jazz 398; Players and
Poets 399; Women Singers 401; Southern Sudan
402; Southern Survivals 402; The Nuba 402; Where
Next? 403; Dance & Trance: Sufi Dervishes 403
Tanzania & Kenya |
Taarab 408
the swahili coastal sound
by Werner Graebner
Taarab Roots 409; Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club 410;
Lamu and Mombasa 411; Zanzibar Culture Club 412;
Modern Taarab 413; The “Little Granny” of Zanzibar
413; Tanga: Black Star 414; Dar es Salaam 414
Tanzania | Popular
Music 418
the land of use-your-brain
by Werner Graebner
Muziki Wa Dansi 419; The Morogoro Jazz Band
419; No Sweat from Congo: Maquis and Matimila
422; Hotel Pop 423; Bongo Flava 423; Tradition &
Innovation 424; Mchiriku Madness 425; Jagwa Jive
425; Reggae and Ragga 426
Uganda 430
strong roots and new shoots
by Andy Cooke and Sten Sandahl
The Kampala Scene 431; Kadongo Kamu 431; Traditional
Music 431; Royal Court Music 431; Village
Music 432
Zambia 436
evolution and expression
by Ronnie Graham, Simon Kandela Tunkanya
and Kennedy Gondwe
From Independence to Zam-rock 437; Kalindula
Arrives 438; Emmanuel Jaggari Chanda 438; Zambian
Music in the 1990s 440; Tribal Music, Dance
and Instruments 440; Mondo and the Re-emerging
Music Industry 441; The 21st Century 441
Zimbabwe 444
mbira, sungura and chimurenga: play
it loud!
by Banning Eyre and Tom Bullough
Tough Times 445; Beerhalls and Biras 446; The
Mbira 446; Mapfumo: Chimurenga Man for All
Seasons 447; Tuku Music 449; Oliver Mtukudzi 450;
Jit Hits the Fans 451; Rumba-Sungura 452; Praise
the Lord and Pass the Sadza 453; Ndebele Pop: the
Bulawayo Sound 453; New Directions 455
Part 2: Middle East
map of countries and styles covered 461
Arab World/Egypt |
Classical 463
music, partner of poetry
by David Lodge, Bill Badley and Neil van der
Linden
Classical Arab Music 464; Shared Roots 464;
Koranic Recitation: the Basis of Islamic Music 465;
Theory, Scales & Rhythm in Classical Arab Music
466; Emerging Traditions in the Twentieth Century
466; Superstars of Cairo 468; Sayed Darwîsh 468;
Farid el-Atrache and Asmahan 468; Umm Kulthum
469; Umm Kulthum’s Composers 470; Mohammed
Abdel Wahab 470; Leyla Murad 470; Abdalhalim
Hafez 471; Warda al-Jaza’iriya 471; Festival of Arabic
Music 471
Arabesque 475
oriental fusion
by Phil Meadley
The West Looks East 476; The French Connection
476; Back to Morocco 477; The London Equation
477; Arabesque Moderne 477; The Istanbul
Express 478
Armenia 481
the singing apricot tree
by Simon Broughton
Religious Music 482; The Massacres and the
Diaspora 482; Folk Music 483; Ashoughs 484; Classical
Music, Cabaret and Pop 484; Djivan Gasparyan
and the Duduk 485
Azerbaijan 489
in the mugham
by Razia Sultanova and Simon Broughton
Meyxana: Wedding Rap 490; The Aşiq Bard Tradition
490; Mugham 491; Alim Qasimov 491;
Mugham on the Move 492
Egypt | Popular/Street
Music 495
satellites of love
by Reda el Mawi, Sam Farah, David Lodge and
Bill Badley
Sufi Music and Trance 496; Rural Folk Music: the
Nile, the Desert and the Copts 497; New Nubian,
Old Nubian 498; Bride and Home 498; Music of
the Youth 499; Shaabi: Art from the Workers 499;
Shababi 500; Shaabi Superstars 501; New Media,
New Values 502
Georgia 505
a musical toast
by Simon Broughton
Table Songs 506; Polyphony 506; Professional
Choirs 507; Booking a Band Georgian-Style 507;
Urban Songs 508
The Gulf 510
khaleeji comeback
by Bill Badley
Saudi Arabia 511; Bahrain 512; United Arab Emirates
512; Qatar 513; Kuwait 513; Yemen 513; Oman 515
Iran 519
the art of ornament
by Laudan Nooshin and Simon Broughton
Classical Iranian Instruments 520; Classical Music
520; From Courts to Cassettes 521; Post-Revolutionary
Revival 521; Mohammad Reza Shajarian
522; Modes and Improvisation 522; Listening to
Classical Music 523; Folk Music 524; The Bakshi of
Khorasan 524; Kurdish Tanbur Players 524; Other
Regional Highlights 525; Iranian Pop 525; Kayhan
Kalhor 526; Pop Artists 526
Iraq 533
mesopotamia forever
by Neil van der Linden
Maqam 534; Baghdad’s Roaring Fifties 535; The
Assyrians 535; Rural Sounds 535; Jewish Musicians
in Iraq 535; The Great Iraqi Oud Tradition
536; Popular Music 536
Israel 539
narrow bridge/global village
by Dubi Lenz
Songs of the Good Old Land 540; Yemenite Songs
540; Chava Alberstein: Shadow of Israel 541; Roots
and Fusions 542; Yair Dalal: Israeli Oud 543
Jewish Music | Sephardic
551
ladino romance
by Judith Cohen and Hilary Pomeroy
Origins and Evolution 552; Key Figures 552; The
Levy Legacy 553; Spaniards and Fusions 554; Song
Preservation 555
Jordan & Bedouin Music
559
camel steps and epics of the sheikhs
by Bill Badley
Music of Movement 560; Bedouin Instruments
561
Kurdish Music 563
songs of the stateless
by Eva Skalla and Parwez Zabihi
Bards, Minstrels and Songs 564; Instruments and
Rhythm 564; Partition States 565; Kurdistan of Turkey
565; Federal Kurdistan of Iraq 566; Kurdistan
of Iran 567; Syrian and Armenian Kurdistan 567;
The Diaspora 567; The Kamkars 568
Lebanon 572
the rising star in the middle east
by Bill Badley
Diverse Cultures, Diverse Styles 573; Doing the
Dabke 574; Fairuz and the Rahbanis 574; Female
Stars 575; Male Pop Singers 575; Sacred Sounds
576; The Diaspora 576
Palestinian Music 580
sounds for a new state
by Andy Morgan, Mu’tasem Adileh and Bill
Badley
Rural Songs: Dabke and Qawaali 581; Songs of
Partition 581; The Intifada 582; Beginnings of a
State 583; El Funoun – Palestinian Art-Music 584;
New Opportunities 585
Syria 589
sufis and superstars
by Roger Short
Silk Roots 590; The Sultan of Tarab 590; Superdivas
591; Abdullah Chhadeh, the Qanun and the
Hookah 591; Sufi Nights 592; Country Music, Syrian-
style 592
Turkey 595
sounds of anatolia
by Martin Stokes and Francesco Martinelli
Turkish Folk 596; Saz Music and the TRT Sound
596; Regional Folk 597; Așık Music 597; Classical
Traditions 598; Classical Fasil and Later Developments
599; Classical Stars 600; The Whirling Dervishes
and Sufi Music 601; Dede’s Dervish 602;
Gypsies and Fasıl Music 602; Western-style Art
Music 603; Minority Musics 603; Kurdish Music
603; Greek–Turkish Music 604; Jewish Traditions
604; Arabesk 604; Oriental Roots 604; Arabesk
Goes Big-Time 605; Pop and Anatolian Rock 606;
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