Midweek Bonus Picks - Hyper-fast Tanzanian Dance Music | Zambian Mashups/Covers | Thomas Mapfumo Live 1984

Midweek Bonus Picks are quick snippets of interesting stuff that's worth a look or listen.

We feature a Pick of the Week every Saturday. Now we're adding Midweek Bonus Picks, which are quick snippets of interesting stuff that's worth a look or listen.

BBC Africa recently reported on a style of Tanzanian music known as Singeli. As they put it:

Singeli is Africa’s fastest music beat. With speeds of over 300 beats per minute, Singeli has become the sound of the streets and clubs of Tanzania. Initially an underground genre played in the informal settlements of Dar Es Saalam, Singeli is now a favourite among revellers and one of the sounds used by the late president John Magufuli in his campaigns and public appearances. It’s gaining popularity in neighbouring East African countries and the world at large.

I ran across Delvin’s Acoustic Sounds not long after starting MoA. The video embedded in this article is on my "Ultimate Top 10" list. It's a mashup/cover of four popular songs - a point that was not clear to me at first.

They do a lot of this sort of thing at Delvin's - covers, mashups and whatnot of songs by famous African artists and from pop superstars such as Justin Timberlake and Shana Twain.

Live footage of Thomas Mapfumo isn't hard to come by, but I can't recall seeing any that goes back as far as 1984.

Here's 22 minutes of music that was "filmed, produced and directed by Simon Davis" and "features two songs live at the Forum in 1984, Congress and Pidigori. Additional archive footage from Zimbabwe is incorporated." Sound and video quality are good.