Jagwa Music: Summer Concerts in Scandinavia, Portugal and Spain
06-06-2014
Jagwa Music will play a string of Spanish festivals in mid-July courtesy of Casa Africa, dates include Pirineos Sur, La Mar de Musica, Etnosur and Mumes. Gigs in Portugal include Music Box in Lisbon, FMM and Milhoes Festival. Jagwa will also play at the Copenhagen and Arhus Jazz Festival (Denmark) and Urkult in the North of Sweden.More details ››
Kazimoto: Dar es Salaam Street Vibe meets International Electronica
01-06-2014
International critics have called Jagwa Music’s Dar street vibe variously as “hand-made techno” or “African nu-rave”. During one of the group’s stays in Berlin they had a chance meeting with German electronic artists Andi and Hannes Teichmann: the brothers attended a club show by Jagwa and the following day met for some jamming at the Gebrüder Teichmann’s studio. Now in February Andi and Hannes had their initiation into the real mchiriku attending some of the group’s street performances and rehearsing for a joint project that brings together Jagwa’s lead vocalist Jackie Kazimoto, Casio wizard Shukuru Ponza, percussion maestro TP, with the drum and bass duo of Tony Karama and Abdallah Ng’onda. After their initial performance in February at Zanzibar’s Sauti za Busara Festival—kind of drowned in torrential rains, yet still showing lots of promise—Kazimoto will take the heat to Lisboa Mistura Festival later this month and to TFF Rudolstadt in early July.More details ››
Jagwa Music to Perform at Rain Forest World Music Festival
05-05-2014
In June Jagwa Music will head to the Far East for the first time to perform at Rain Forest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak. ››Mambo Moto Moto: Tanzania Country Focus at TFF Rudolstadt
24-04-2014
Jahazi Media’s Werner Graebner curates this year’s country special at TFF Rudolstadt. “Mambo Moto Moto”, hot stuff from Tanzania will feature Black Warriors, Kaya Baikoko, Kazimoto, Safi Theatre, Segere Original (all from Dar es Salaam), Kithara, Tarbiya Islamiyya (Zanzibar) and Ufunuo Muheme Group (from Dodoma).For more information ››
Jagwa Music to Play Beirut and Beyond Festival
11-11-2013
Just confirmed:Jagwa Music will play at Beirut and Beyond Festival in Lebanon on December 6.
For more information ››
Kithara CD Release and Autumn Tour
06-11-2013
“Rajab Suleiman and Kithara – Chungu” is the title of the latest release in the Zanzibara series (Colume 8) to be released by Buda Musique later this month. The group will be on a short European tour in November/December and play concerts in France and Netherlands.For dates see ››
Zanzibara Volume 7 : Sikinde vs Ndekule
17-06-2013
“Sikinde vs Ndekule—A Battle of Bands in Dar es Salaam 1984-1987" is the title of the upcoming Volume 7 in the Zanzibara Series (released by Buda Musique). A fierce exchange of songs and words ensued when some of Mlimani Park Orchestra’s (Sikinde) major musicians went to join the rival International Orchestra Safari Sound (Ndekule) in 1985. It was the golden age of Tanzania’s muziki wa dansi and the whole nation followed the latest news from these bands as these songs were first performed in the city’s dance hall circuit before being recorded for wider distribution by Radio Tanzania … read more ››Jagwa Music : Tour Dates Summer 2013
10-06-2013
Noise masters Jagwa Music will take their Dar es Salaam street vibe to summer festival stages throughout Europe in July. Major stops include Fundaçao Gulbenkian (Lisboa,PT), Fusion Festival (Lärz, DE), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (DK), Skankaloss (Gagnef, DE), Paleo Festival (Nyon, CH), Womad (Charlton Park, UK), Sfinks (Boechout, BE), Zomerparkfeest (Venlo, NL). More information touring ››Kithara : Autumn Tour
26-03-2013
Kithara – The Stars of Culture Musical Club will tour Europe in autumn. Already confirmed is a show at Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris on November 30, 2013. Young up-and-coming singer Saada Nassor just joined the group, and was also present when the group recorded songs for their upcoming first international CD release earlier this month. A short edit of Saada’s song “Chungu” is featured in the sidebar. touring ››Mlimani Park Orchestra and Super Maya Baikoko to Perform at Sauti za Busara
15-01-2013
Dar es Salaam’s muziki wa dansi masters Mlimani Park Orchestra will take their vibes to the 10th edition of Zanzibar’s Sauti za Busara Festival. Also – and on a big stage for the first time – talk-of-town Dar nightlife sensation Super Maya. Baikoko ngoma from the Digo villages around Tanga has recently become one of the most loved night entertainments around Dar es Salaam. Baikoko groups play in roadside bars, at weddings or being invited as an added attraction for modern taarab nights. The young man who started it all is Juma Hussein, also known as “Maya”. read more ››
09-11-2012
Here’s a short review of Jagwa’s performance at Le Bourg. Lausanne last night:
La révolution Jagwa Music
« Ils ont débarqué hier soir sur la scène du Bourg tel un tsunami musical. Ils ce sont les six musiciens de Jagwa Music. Quatre percussionnistes et un clavier pour une déferlante de rythmes et de sons saturés. Et un chanteur qui arpente le devant de la scène entre rap, chant et harangues. Ils jouent sur des percussions africaines, dont un tambour basse dont les vibrations vous remuent les entrailles à chaque frappe, mais balancent aussi leur frappe sur un…. tabouret. Quant au clavier, il a l’allure d’un jouet d’enfant, une simple rangée de notes blanches et noires posées sur les genoux d’un des membres du groupe qui d’une main plaque quelques accords et de l’autre esquisse une mélodie minimale, son pouce courant sur les notes rapidement. Ce style s’appelle mchiriku et fait penser à du Konono n° 1 ou du Kasaï All Stars sous l’influence de substances excitantes. … »
[Elisabeth Stoudmann 09. Nov 12]
03-11-2012
Jagwa Music are in the midst of a short European tour. The pictures show singer Jackie and master drummer Mazinge on stage at Amsterdam's Melkweg earlier this week. They will be playing at Musique Publique at Théâtre Molière in Brussels on November 3, and at Comptoir Général in Paris on November 4. read more ››
Jagwa Music’s First International Release to be out on Crammed Discs in May
03-15-2012
“The debut album by the exciting Afro-punk collective from Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), JAGWA MUSIC, whose electrifying appearances at festivals such as Roskilde have created a sensation. Imagine a crew of 8 youngsters (with a great, urban dress sense) playing nutty grooves at breakneck speed on traditional percussion, a keyboard player going mad on a battered vintage Casio, and three relentless front persons: two breathtaking, spectacular dancers and a charismatic lead vocalist/MC, belting out songs about survival in the urban maze, unfaithful lovers and voodoo.” [Release date: May 2012]
For current information and media please visit:
www.crammed.be ››
Jagwa Music: First Tour Dates Announced
03-15-2012
Jagwa will be on a European tour again in May and June 2012. They will play festivals in Chiasso (CH), Gothenburg (SE), Linz (AT), Llubljana (SI), Nijmegen (NL), Prague (CZ) among others. More dates to be announced soon.
For more information:
tour dates ››
2011: Jagwa Music takes the street vibe of Dar es Salaam to the big stage
06-10-2011
Jagwa Music just completed a short European tour which took them to the Roskilde Festival (DK) and TFF Rudolstadt (D) among others. Successfully transforming the vibe of their Dar es Salaam street performances to the big stage singer Jackie Kazimoto and crew transformed Roskilde’s Cosmopol tent into crazy party that lasted until the curfew at 4 am. Here’s what the Danish press made of their show:
A HARD-HITTING PARTY: JAGWA MUSIC IS COMPLETELY OUT OF CATEGORY
A wildly syncopated rhythm section in sickly exorbitant high-speed interaction with a cheap Casio-keyboard spitting harmonic Esperanto. And a lead singer with the charm of a young Michael Jackson flanked by two absolutely out of hand/unruly dancers, just as dirty/bawdy and funny as acrobatic. Rarely has Cosmopol driven the energy level that high and merry.
[Ralf Christensen, Information, July 4, 2011, p. 1; www.information.dk]
IRRESISTIBLE ROCKERS FROM TANZANIA
The lead singer of the incredible group which is establishing East African sounds in the global conscience, is a fantastic, wonderful and cheeky guy with a strolling, almost flippant appearance. And behind him is an ensemble, which mostly consists of percussionists, who weave a flying carpet of beats, while the melodic parts are performed by a kid with a small keyboard, which unmistakably resembles the one I bought for my daughter, when she was five. And I dare say that it moves. […] They are a street style band like the more famous ones from Congo. But the way they kick ass, the role as the underdog is soon to end. And as the last band Saturday night on Cosmopol they made a packed tent go crazy. The audience did not want to let go of the party. Unequalled/brilliant, simply!
[Torben Holleufer, Gaffa, July 3, 2011; www.gaffa.dk]
