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London, United Kingdom – When Nimco Happy’s Isii Nafta (Love You More Than My Life) went viral on social media last year, many saw it as a significant step. Somali music entering the main stream.
Multilingual songs, sung in Swahili, English, Arabic and Somali, have spread across the Internet after gaining popularity. TikTok.
In fact Fauziaa British-Somali DJ and single-name artist, the virality of Nimco Elmi Ali’s song, better known by her stage name Nimco Happy, is a sign of something more.
He told Al Jazeera that “It’s really amazing to see this rise with Somali artists, because I feel like I can now see what it really is.”
Fauzia himself contributed to the dissemination of Somali music in December last year at the historic Southbank Center with the release of Flashes in Time at the Purcell Room, a concert and performance venue.
“Initially, I wanted to do an installation. I wanted to focus on the history of Somali music, and build an installation using Somali instrumentation and rhythms but using the sounds of UK electronic music to build that crossover of sounds, ”he told Al Jazeera.
Music trip to Somalia
Fauzia’s musical journey in Somalia began with her parents when she was a child, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that she discovered the artist on her own and incorporated it into the NTS Radio show she has had for the past four years.
“I think in recent years I’ve started to listen to Somali music properly, deliberately, unlike my parents,” he said. “And I said, wow, this is totally unbelievable. Then last year I did a mix of all the Somali music, which was very well received, and I really enjoyed doing the show.”
As he developed and nurtured a musical connection to the British and Somali origins of Fauzia, he took it a step further.
Trying to find the intergenerational connection he could create with the Purcell Hall, he played with the Dur Dur Band.
Founded in the 1980s, Dur Dur Band is one of Somalia’s most famous disco-funk bands.
Performances based on Somali’s popular oral tradition rocked the famous Jubba Hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, combining jazz, reggae and funk with songs about love and hardship.
But with the outbreak of civil war in 1991, musicians fled the country and disbanded.
New start
The Dur Dur Band was revamped in 2011 with one of the original members and artists from other Somali bands and is now performing in the UK and Europe.
His music now includes Awesome Tapes of Africa and his 2017 Grammy-nominated collection, Sweet as Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn.
Hassan, an assistant director and singer who plunged into the pandemic of the coronavirus, told Al Jazeera that the group was doing well, despite the pandemics being badly damaged, “24 jobs canceled, including festivals.”
Hassan, who came to the UK from Djibouti at the age of 13, told Al Jazeera that it was “amazing” to see the rise of Somali music.
Sharing a scenario with Fauzia, Hassan said: “I’m proud of what he’s doing. It’s out of context and everything we know. So being on the same platform is a fusion that was not like another night for me. ”
In Nimco Happy ‘song, he told Al Jazeera: “The clear thing he did was add Arabic and Swahili, and that’s great. It’s awesome. It’s simple. But, I love it. ‘
Now, Hassan says the band intends to work with younger Somali artists, such as Sudan Serar, and continue to play.
For Fauzia, the rise of Nimco Happy and the combination of Dur Dur Band represent a change for the better.
“I think a lot of people are realizing what a lot of people have known in the past … that this music is incredible. So I definitely think it’s a very special time,” he said.
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