WHAT IS SINGELI?
Singeli is a genre of music unlike anything else on the planet. It originated in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania around ten years ago and has become extremely popular in Tanzania and abroad. Singeli is very different from most other genres of music, noted for its extraordinary speed and the way in which it marries traditional musical forms with a futuristic electronic beat.
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
Dar Es Salaam is growing quickly and could become one of the largest cities in the world this century. With 44% of the population under the age of fifteen, Tanzania is a country of youth. With that many young people living in such a small area, it is unsurprising to see exciting new kinds of music, as their innovative spirit meets their desire to party.
Singeli borrows from taarab (meaning ‘having joy with music’ in Arabic), a popular style in Kenyan and Tanzanian coastal areas, alongside the related genre mchikiru, and traditional style chakacha. Singeli emerged as these styles met, and were updated using modern technology. By recycling bits of pre-existing songs, changing their speed, and adding electronic sounds, early singeli musicians were able to create something new. Importantly, unlike the extremely expensive equipment used by some popular musicians, singeli musicians do this using little more than a cheap computer, from ordinary neighborhoods like Mburahati, where singeli was first made.
Singeli lyrics are normally about the everyday concerns of ordinary people, such as problems with money, relationships and government. One fifteen-year-old producer, Dogo Mjanja, talks about problems at school. By focusing on these issues and working with the technology and musical styles available and known to them, singeli producers create music which is both relevant to their communities, and extremely modern.
THE POPULARITY OF SINGELI TODAY
Singeli gathered its first fans at kigodoro parties, meaning ‘foam mattress’ in Swahili. This is because after these parties, people would collapse with exhaustion onto the first soft surface they could find. Its fan base grew as more people experienced these performances, the sale of cheap CDs ensuring they had something to listen to.
Singeli is diverse, and is enjoyed by people with a range of tastes. While the singeli producers making pop-influenced music are Tanzania’s most popular, the genre’s originators (like Sisso and Jay Mitta) produce the most unique music. This style is always represented at the international music festival Nyege Nyege in Uganda, and has been remixed by big European electronic artists. Singeli artists have played in Berghain, one of Europe’s most famous nightclubs. This is amazing, considering how closely tied singeli music is to its original community.
One singeli musician, forty year old mother Rehema Tahiri, said: ‘Singeli is local music. Listen to those drums. It’s young music. You can hear it in the way they dance, and the way they sing.’
Singeli provides an important means of expression for young people in a rapidly changing world, and represents the best of modern music coming out of Africa today.
Conclusion
Singeli is a new genre of electronic music, coming from Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. It is an important means of expression for the city’s young population, and has received attention both across Africa, and outside the continent. Singeli is a quick, vibrant and unique genre, and represents the important contributions African young people are making to modern music. This article explores its origins, and explains its importance.
