Wahapahapa Band

About Wahapahapa Band

Wahapahapa Band Profile


INTRODUCTION

Wahapahapa Band is a group of six musicians from Tanzania looking to boldly take our distinct sound to the rest of the world and offer them a taste of the richness of the language and the life experience of the Swahili people.

Wahapahapa means ‘originates from here’ in Swahili, the language of our country, Tanzania.

Our music is a unique blend of homegrown music inspired by diverse Swahili traditions and influences of contemporary world music.


BAND PERFORMANCES

Our band members have performed, individually and as a group, at the following festivals/events:
-Mundial Festival in The Netherlands (2004)
-Mela Festival in Oslo, Norway (2007)
-Bagamoyo Art Festival in Bagamoyo, Tanzania (2008, 2009, 2010)
-Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha in Bangalore, India (2008)
-Coco Beach Concert (2009)
-Sauti za Busara Music Festival in Zanzibar, Tanzania (2009-2017)
-Mzalendo Festival (2010)
-Barazani Jazz Concert (2011)

We have also held successful concerts here in Dar es Salaam in collaboration with other local artists


BAND MUSICIANS

PAUL NDUNGURU (“ZERUBABEL)
Acoustic guitarist, lead singer and the writer of all Wahapahapa songs.
Holds an art diploma in dancing and fine art from the Bagamoyo College of Art.
He has done several international music collaborations, including with musicians at the Falun Folk Festival (Sweden), as well as being a part of the Bring the Noise group – a collaboration of diverse musicians from ten African countries performing together across several African countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Uganda) and in the United Kingdom.

TEDDY MUBARAK
Bass player, vocalist and music arranger.
He has extensive experience playing at various international venues including those in Europe, Canada, Gambia and Japan.
Holds a postgraduate Diploma from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He was one of the founding members of the renowned Tatunane Band.

NORMAN BIKAKA (“TYULI”)
Lead guitarist
He has worked with several international artists, including Chiwoniso from Zimbabwe with whom he toured in Germany,Norway, and performed at the Mela Festival in 2007.

FUJO MAKARANGA
Traditional percussionist (traditional ngoma/drums) and vocalist.
An international drum player, Fujo has worked with several dance companies in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. He has also performed at various festivals, including Mundial Festival (Netherlands) and WOMAD (London).

HAIDARI MOHAMED (“ZUNGU”)
Percussionist/drummer
He has performed at festivals in San Francisco (US), Sweden, Holland, and Malawi.


TWABA MOHAMED (“BRANKA DANG”)
Multi-percussionist (rhythm drums, shakers & marimba) and vocalist.
He has toured multiple times around Japan and German .