Mambo Moto Moto

The Rudolstadt Dance & Folk Fest (TFF) in Thuringia is Germany’s largest and most famous world music festival. The 2014 TFF festival, titled “Mambo Moto Moto – Music from Tanzania”, presented the latest trends in the urban music scenes of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Featuring concerts by numerous ensembles, such as Segere Original, Kaya Baikoko, Tarbiyya Islamiyya and the Women of Wagogo, the festival had invited musicians who have caused a stir in their cities’ music scenes and are known for their own very original and forward-looking styles and directions. For the first time in the festival’s history, four German-Tanzanian co-productions had been featured at the 2014 edition of the TFF, following a several-week working and rehearsal phase. In addition to Bongo Flava Rap and international Electronica, a collaboration between the Teichmann Brothers from Regensburg/Berlin and the Kazimoto ensemble from Zanzibar presented music from the slums of Dar es Salaam called “Mchiiriku” – a style that Western critics have described as “handmade techno” or “African nu-rave”. The festival also featured a specially developed joint production by AnalogAfricaSoundsystem from Frankfurt and the musicians Samy Ben Redjep and Pedo Knopp together with the Black Warriors from Dar es Salaam, an all-star ensemble comprised of Tanzania’s top dance band, instrumentalist and singers.

The festival was accompanied by the scientific conference "Sketches of Tanzania" (opens in a new window) on 4 July 2014, organized in cooperation with the Department of Transcultural Music Studies at the College of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar. The lectures will later be published as a conference transcript. The artistic director of the conference programme was Werner Graebner.

A project by the Dept. of Cultural Affairs of Rudolstadt with Zanzibar music festival Sauti za Busara

Artists: Taarab Ensemble Kithara, Zanzibar with Derya Takkali, Berlin; Kazimoto, Dar es Salaam with the Teichmann Brothers, Berlin/Regensburg; Black Warriors, Dar es Salaam with AnalogAfricaSoundsystem, Frankfurt/Main; Safi Theatre, Dar es Salaam with the Circus Bombastico, Dresden with special guests Segere Original and Tarbiyya Islamiyya, Zanzibar, Kaya Baikoko, Dar es Salaam, Women of Wagogo, Dodoma, Ufunuo Muheme Group a.o.

Schedule:

1–22 Feb. 2014 Events in schools and concerts in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar
16 Jun. – 6 Jul. 2014 Events in schools and concerts in Rudolstadt (Festival 3.-6. Jul. 2014)
10–16 Feb. 2015 Concerts in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar