My name is Mohammed Issa Haji better known as Matona and I was born in 1969 in Paje, Zanzibar about 45 miles from Stone Town.I got my primary and secondary education in Zanzibar and Morogoro but I spent most of my time in making music from early age.My inspiration I definitely inherited from my father who was a famous Taarab musician and violinist himself.
From when I was young, our neighbors and friends in the street noticed and spoke about me having inherited my father’s talent when they heard me drumming on my self-made drum.In 1986 I left school and joined my father as his percussionist in Dar es Salaam.
Then I returned to Zanzibar in 1987 and joined the Khasi Musical Club.
In 1989 I started playing music with Mohammed Elyas and the Twinkling Stars where I played percussion, violin and ended up as a quanun player.I left this group in 1993 when I decided to play with The Bwawani Taarab orchestra where I was the music director.
I was composing, writing and also a quanun and keyboard player.
In 1995 I left the group to join the oldest traditional group, which has now reached 100 years: Nadi Ikhwan Safaa.
In this same year I opened my own band known as G-Clef Taarab Orchestra, which became very popular between 1995 and 2001.
In this group I inspired and trained many musicians who are famous today with Modern Taarab.
In 2002 the DCMA Music School opened its doors and I was asked to join as a teacher.
I gave up my band and spend most of my time in the music academy teaching and studying.
I am among the first teachers starting to work at the academy since it opened and I am in the board of trustee.With the help of the music academy I got the chance to get professional training abroad from famous teachers like for example Alfred Gamil in Cairo and Teachers from Palestine who visited us at the academy like Khalid Gubran
I also benefited from educational trips and musical exchanges with for example Norway Agder University and the Northolm Musikschule in Germany.
My main instrument now is Violin and Oud, which I learned to play in a local way like many other Zanzibari self-taught players did.
I use our traditional way of playing caring more for rhythm and also started composing.
I later became famous with my own compositions and repertoire, which I am today using for my small ensemble, which consists of my loyal students and myself; Matona and G-clef where we play typical Zanzibar traditional Taarab music.
