Siti Muharam: Siti of Unguja review – scion of taarab pioneer redefines it
The Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar has historically been a meeting place of cultures, from the Indian spice trade to the east African slave trade. As such, its music, taarab, blends Qur’anic verses, east African polyrhythm and Indian melodies. Traditionally it was performed only by men. But in the early 20th century, Zanzibari singer Siti Binti Saad reimagined what had been formal court music into a private form of improvisation, laced with a spirit of inclusivity that combined Arabic and Swahili lyrics. In doing so, she paved the way for female taarab singers, including protege Bi Kidude and Kenyan Zuhura Swaleh.
Almost a century on, Saad’s great granddaughter Siti Muharam is continuing her legacy, paying homage to a lineage of powerful female voices on her debut album, Siti of Unguja. Muharam reinterprets her great-grandmother’s poetic standards with her own rich tenor. Kijiti – a horrifying tale of the rape and murder of a pregnant young woman – foregrounds Muharam’s yearning, elastic voice, at points almost breaking with the weight of its emotion, while a sparse percussive backing provides space for the oud melody. Muharam puts her own stamp on the relatively conservative taarab tradition by adding western instrumentation to bandmates Mohamed Issa Matona’s oud and Gora Mohamed Gora’s qanun: highlights include the subtle blend of tablas and electronic percussion on Pakistan, the guttural rumblings of Stian Andersen’s contra bass on instrumental opener Machozi Ya Huba, and baritone saxophonist Tamar Osborn’s cool, metallic backing to the synth-laden bonus track Ashikibaya.
Oud player Matona describes the notoriously private Muharam as a “lost artist”, and has expressed his hope that with this project she will finally gain recognition and highlight Saad’s “holy text for Zanzibari taarab”. Siti of Unguja is no formalist exercise: it is in her reimagining of taarab that Muharam furthers its spirit of striving to reflect the context of its making within the structures of tradition.
Also out this month
Seun Kuti-endorsed Nigerian trumpeter and composer Etuk Ubong releases his third album Africa Today: Night Dreamer Direct-to-Disc Sessions, an explosive continuation of the Kuti family’s politically conscious Afrobeat, punctuated by luscious big-band arrangements. Malian star Oumou Sangaré releases Acoustic, a beautiful unplugged reimagining of her 2017 album Mogoya, showcasing her warm, liquid voice soaring effortlessly over ballads like Diaraby Nene. Leaning into a Lebanese take on early acid jazz is the reissue of singer Fairuz’s 1987 LP Maarifti Feek, an unpredictable tour through jazz trio compositions, robotic synth strings and funk fusion.
