El Tanbura
El Tanbura are a collective of veteran Egyptian Master Musicians, singers, fishermen and philosophers. They are based in Port Said at the gate of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

“Quite magical…it is easy to imagine why Simsimmiyya players were employed on Red Sea ships to charm the winds… Some of the funkiest music anywhere.”
Songlines Magazine

Their music is a mesmerising blend of coastal folk melodies and Sufi verses, highly driven by the seductive call of the Simsimmiyya, a lyre dating back to the times of the Pharaohs, which has been used to exorcise maleficient forces during the highly secular Zar rituals.

Mahmoud Ahmed
Mahmoud Ahmed can best be described as a true icon of East-African music. Praise and adoration has rained down on him for decades.

This highly charismatic singer is originally from the Gourague people in Ethiopia and came to international attention in 1986 after the release of Ere Mela Mela.

Though he never crossed over as an Afropop star, Mahmoud Ahmed remains hugely popular with Ethiopians around the world and is constantly touring the international circuits.

His presence on stage is electrifying and his charisma intense. He is a truly a master at unleashing the ‘euskeuta’, an ecstatic shivering of the shoulders that can spread like an epidemic across Ethiopian and international dancefloors.

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