Sisso & Maiko’s productions epitomize Singeli’s hyperlocal scenius, distilling the vitality and struggle of life on the fringes of the Swahili-speaking world’s most populous city, into a unique music which seems to reflect the idea of keeping a cool head in frenetic situations. Between their ratchet rhythms and pitched-up melodies, there’s a sublime, unresolved tension at play, where the music feels to accelerate so fast that dancers are gliding, sustaining a breathlessly “up” effect that uncannily recalls mid-’90s UK happy hardcore as much as Chicago footwork, Caribbean Soca, and Shangaan disco, yet with a psychotomimetic appeal all of its own. Born in the sprawling working class neighborhoods of Tandale and Manzese, Singeli’s signature sound consists of fast paced frantic loops interlocking with each other, with influences from Zanzibar’s Tarab music all the way to South African afro-house coupled with mc’s who often spit satirical lyrics about the challenges facing Tanzania’s youth, from police corruption to the complications of dating girls when you are broke.
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