HIGH COMMISSIONER DR ASHA R MIGIRO MEETS UK BASED TANZANIAN ARTISTS

Constancy and continuity they say are best ways of achieving tasks, efficiently. Sporadic intense,  activity does not really deliver.

And it is the consistency that adds to quality. Ever since she arrived in the UK three months or so ago, Dr Asha Rose Migiro, new Tanzanian envoy has kept that pulse. That Drizzle.

40 YEARS OF BRITISH TANZANIA SOCIETY

Lovely maandazi- which people in the West call Dumplings...made throats feel sweeter.
It was an evening to remember with loads of fun, rhythm, laughter and chatter. Pic by F Macha

SAIDI KANDA's NEW ALBUM BRINGS OUT AN UNSUNG HERO...

How long does it take to notice a unique artist?
Good question.

Saidi Kanda promotes his new album Ambush at Rich Mix , East London in November 2014. On his left is singer Fab Moses, whose participation in Kanda's performances is significant.
Pic by F Macha

Our lives are not as unkind as a 1960s T shirt used to say, i.e. cruel world. But the music industry is a tough trek. We have to like and believe in what we do. Just like Musician Saidi Kanda, 
who has been around for as long as I can remember. 

I recall visiting the late musician Remmy Ongala (above) at one of the clubs he performed regularly in Dar es Salaam Tanzania. It was 1983. Then prodigy percussionist  Saidi Kanda was only 21 and already playing with the legend. I was burning and eager to write about Ongala who I felt was not getting due credit for his amazing music and input into international culture. My efforts to pen articles in my then column with the weekly Sunday News, belched something else. Journalism was not enough. I felt I had to write a book about Remmy Ongala's life. I started right away...