"Oddly, Zanzibar and Oman were once one country, linked and separated by 2500 miles of Indian Ocean - and this helps explain the currents you can feel in this voluptuous, complex music. On one hand you have the grand dramatic sweep of an Arab orchestra, and then you have softer, gentler African currents, easy-going vocals and relaxed drumbeats ... The subleties are enormous - rhythm and melody, time signatures and organisation - nothing is obvious - and yet the mood remains kind and welcoming. Taarab is the name of this Zanzibarean music, and for a long time it was supplied by large music clubs ... Kithara are about the only ones left doing things the traditional way ... You can't fail to be impressed by the range of effects possible with double bass, lute, violin, Suleiman's central qanun zither, bass guitar, accordeon, percussion - and upwards of half a dozen singers. Happy surprises abound. Sudden passages of harder rock rhythm make the point that this music is aliveandliving now".
