Ahmed Moneka’s engaging Kanzafula is a vibrant fusion of Afro-Sufi music, seamlessly intertwining influences from Iraq, Kenya, and Canada. This album reflects Moneka’s unique journey, from his birthplace in Iraq and his ancestral roots in Kenya to his new home in Toronto, where he arrived as a refugee.
As Angel Romero explains, Moneka celebrates this rich heritage in his music. Kanzafula offers a joyful, magnetic and transcendent mix of deeply built East African rhythms and Arabic melodies, enriched with funk, soul, jazz, and even Latin music influences.
A project reflecting Ahmed Moneka's journey and culture to the Toronto music scene, his music introduces ‘maqam’ style Arabic music skills that he learned in Baghdad, Iraq where he grew up, mixed with African groove and rhythm that he inherited from his African descendants, the well-known Moneka family.
Because Ahmed’s journey brought him in 2015 to Toronto, Canada, he has been honoured to collaborate with fascinating local musicians and share this heritage and traditions with everyone. Jazz, Maqam and funk are a way to bridge his Afro-Arabic background to the diversity of Toronto performers.
