It’s so good to see the inestimable Buda Musique take the modern route and make some of the treasures of their back catalog accessible, not only digitally, but on fine vinyl and CD editions.

This compilation brings together a collection of artists from the towns of Mombasa and Tanga, in Kenya and Tanzania respectively, highlighting the genre of taarab.  The genre is influenced by Taarab is influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Over at the label’s Bandcamp site, there is a brief history of the genre and its effect on the cultures of Kenya and Tanzania in French.