Mr Mixondo

Nyege Nyege’s first singeli compilation was one of those seminal releases that shone a new light on East African contemporary music, and helped launch the raw, incredibly fast and punkish Tanzanian music on the world stage. Influenced by bongo flava, Zanzibari taarab, Congolese soukous and South African house, singeli emerged around 2005 in the working class neighborhoods of Dar es Salaam, eventually spreading from the streets — where scores of independent studios like Sisso and Pamoja flourished — to the East African mainstream. DJ Travella is part of yet another singeli generation, or “singeli new wave” as Nyege Nyege put it, foregoing vocals in favor of a more experimental approach. Though largely following the classic singeli structure and trademark hyper-sped up rhythms, he pulls from a wider away of sounds, weaving in deconstructed and barely recognizable samples.