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Werner Graebner

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Werner Graebner
Born1953 (age 71–72)
Radolfzell, West Germany
OccupationEthnomusicologist, music producer and author
Years active1984-present
Known forPublications and music albums of Swahili music
WorksCD-series Zanzibara
WebsiteWebsite Jahazi Media

Werner Graebner (born 1953 in Radolfzell, West Germany) is a German Africanist, ethnomusicologist, music producer and author. Due to his recordings and publications on the music of Swahili culture, he is known as an expert on the popular musical cultures of East Africa. His work combines academic scholarship and music production, with editorial and creative roles in both written publications and musical releases.

Life and career

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Graebner completed his studies at the University of Mainz in 1984 with a master's thesis titled Urban Life in Africa: illustrated by selected popular texts from the Swahili-speaking world. As an Africanist, ethnomusicologist and music producer, he is specialised in documenting urban and popular cultures on the East Africa coast and the Comoros. Until 2005, he conducted research in these fields at the Universities of Frankfurt, Cologne and Bayreuth. Since the late 1980s, he has also worked as freelance journalist and producer of musical albums.[1]

Graebner has documented popular music cultures in East Africa, including taarab music in Zanzibar and the coastal regions of Tanzania mainland. Further, he has focussed on taarab styles in Mombasa, Kenya,[2] and the Comoros.[3] In the Tanzanian metropolis Dar es Salaam, he has studied the informal music scenes of youth culture. One of the best-known groups in this musical genre is the Jagwa Music Band with its collective improvisations. This music, known as mchiriku, has been rejected by official media and the country's government as an expression of marginalised social groups, but is extremely popular in the urban subculture.[4]

Taarab musicians Rajab Suleiman & Kithara, 2016

In two musical portraits of Zanzibar, BBC Radio 3 broadcast interviews with Graebner as an expert speaking about the island's taarab music.[5][6] For the Rough Guides to World Music in Africa, he wrote chapters on the sound of the Swahili coast and on the popular dance style mtindo,[7] while also editing the album The Rough Guide to the Music of Tanzania.[8] Further, the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World published Graebner's overviews of several musical genres in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya and the Comoros.[9] His studies and liner notes for recordings are considered essential reading for understanding popular music in Tanzania in the 1980s.[10]

As a co-producer, Graebner released a documentary film about the oldest Taarab ensemble in Zanzibar, Ikhwani Safaa.[11] Additionally, he has produced musical albums distributed by labels such as Buda Musique,[12] Harmonia Mundi[13] and his own music labels Dizim Records,[14]Jahazi Media[15] and Jagwa Music.[16] In 2021, his taarab compilation Zanzibara 10 was the number one world music album at the Transglobal World Music Chart.[17] Further, Graebner also acted as writer, photographer and sound engineer for recordings including the following artists:[18]

Selected publications

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As editor

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  • Graebner, Werner, ed. (21 December 2023). Sokomoko: Popular Culture in East Africa. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-65598-0.

As author

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References

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  1. ^ Haus der Kulturen der Welt (18 August 2022). "Rajab Suleiman (Kithara) im Gespräch mit Werner Gräbner über Taarab" (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  2. ^ Martin, Stephen H. (1994). "Review of Abana Ba Nasery: Classic Acoustic Recordings from Western Kenya; Piny Ose Mer (The World Upside down). "The Best of Benga from the West of Kenya", Ben Mandelson, Werner Graebner". Ethnomusicology. 38 (3): 543–545. doi:10.2307/852125. ISSN 0014-1836. JSTOR 852125.
  3. ^ Werner Gräbner (9 August 2012), "Twarab ya Shingazidja: a first approach", Swahili-Forum – 8.2001, retrieved 20 November 2024
  4. ^ "Afropunk from the Streets of Dar es Salaam | norient.com". Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio 3 – World Routes, Zanzibar 2005, Taarab and Ikwan Safaa". Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 3 – World Routes, Zanzibar 2005, Culture Musical Club and Bi Kidude". Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. ^ Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo, ed. (1999), "Tanzania – Popular Music: mtindo – dance with style", World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Rough Guides, pp. 681–689, ISBN 978-1-85828-635-8, retrieved 20 November 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  8. ^ "The rough guide to the music of Tanzania | WorldCat.org" (in German). Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  9. ^ Werner Graebner (2019). "Taarab". Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Genres: Sub-Saharan Africa. H.C. Feldman , D. Horn , J. Shepherd & G. Kielich. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  10. ^ The Legacy of Tanzanian Musicians Muhidin Gurumo and Hassan Bitchuka: Rhumba Kiserebuka!. Rowman & Littlefield. 24 August 2018. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4985-6440-3.
  11. ^ Frank Gunderson (1 November 2016), "Poetry in Motion: 100 Years of Zanzibar's Nadi Ikhwan Safaa. Directed by Ron Mulvihill. Produced by Kelly Askew and Werner Graebner. DVD. 2016. Distributed by Jahazi Media Gris-Gris Films. Subtitles in Arabic, English, French, Swahili. 71 minutes. Available at www.poetryinmotionfilm.com.", African Music : Journal of the International Library of African Music, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 227–228, doi:10.21504/amj.v10i2.2050, ISSN 2524-2741, retrieved 28 November 2024
  12. ^ Matthew LaVoie, "Zanzibara. 4 volume CD series, published by Buda Musique, Werner Graebner, producer. Detailed booklets for each volume in French and English. (review)" (pdf), African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 133–134
  13. ^ "Spices of Zanzibar – Culture Musical Club, Mil... | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  14. ^ Janet Topp Fargion (1 April 2016), Taarab Music in Zanzibar in the Twentieth Century: A Story of 'Old is Gold' and Flying Spirits, Routledge, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-317-04708-7, retrieved 20 November 2024
  15. ^ "jahazi-media". Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  16. ^ "jagwa-music". Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  17. ^ Romero, Angel (10 February 2021). "Interview with Gilles Fruchaux, Founder of Buda Musique | World Music Central". worldmusiccentral.org. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Werner Graebner Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & …". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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