Jagwa Music

about

Jagwa Music is a Mchiriku collective from Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). 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. Strange as it may seem when you're looking at the current band members' youthful looks, (the line-up of musicians has gradually renewed itself over the years...) Jagwa Music was founded around twenty years ago. They are the leading exponent of the Mchiriku style of playing which developed in the poor suburbs of Dar es Salaam, when cheap Casio keyboards became available and drew the attention of bands playing Chakacha dance music. What happened next is reminiscent of other, by now familiar stories (like that of Konono Nº1): Jagwa Music & their peers were immediately attracted by the Casio's lo-fi sound, adopted it, rechristened it kinanda ("a box that plays music"), and hooked it to vintage amps & megaphones. This new gritty, edgy, distortion-laden sound became known as Mchiriku. Although it's been deliberately ignored by the Tanzanian media, as it is associated with uhuni (thuggery) & the city's low life, it has been thriving ever since. Jagwa Music have a large following around Dar es Salaam: almost everybody knows their songs, w

top songs

albums

Bongo Hotheads

Liwalo Na Liwe

Tumechoka Hoi

Rough Guide To African Roots Revival

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The Rough Guide To African Roots Revival

Vol. 4 Liwalo Na Liwe

Liwalo Na Liwe - Vol 4

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Rough Guide: African Roots Revival

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fRoots 40

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Zanzibar Festival Classics (Highlights from Sauti Za Busara Festival)

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Misc.

Vol. 4: Liwalo Na Liwe

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