Siti of Unguja
Production of Romance Revolution On Zanzibar
Project
Africa Express - The Circus
Client
On the Corner Records
Dhow Countries Music Academy
I was honored to work with an amazing team out in Zanzibar working with the amazing singer Siti Muharam greatgrand daughter of Siti Binti Saad and Mohamed Issa Matona. We were all delighted that this picked up the songlines award for Best Album Africa/Middle East.
'Siti' is an arabic prefix meaning 'lady' and this record reignites the passions of the trailblazing Siti Binti Saad and the golden timbre of Muharam, her descendant and heir apparent to a singular, artistic legacy.
This 'Siti's of Unguja' story begins with Siti Binti Saad's birth in 1890 in the small fishing village of Fumba (on Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago) to parents who had been freed from slavery.
This project gave her an opportunity to embrace her Great Grand-mother’s legacy and to see how important Siti Binti Saad is. It also allowed her to see that her own golden voice is a blessing in itself. Fadhil, Gora and Nema all gained from this project and together we’ve grown.
The sound is new, although, in a way, it’s awoken something real that had been forgotten from the time of Siti Binti Saad. A new taste, a beautiful taste of the people of Zanzibar. It’s what my people will like and this record will reach them and audiences overseas.
