Anania Ngoliga-Bio

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Anania was born in Mpwapwa a town in Dodoma Region. Joined school when he was seven years old and that’s when it was noticed that he was loosing his eyesight, and was enrolled in a special school for the visually impaired, Buigiri Blind School, just outside Dodoma in Tanzania where he completed his primary education. He lost his eyesight completely by the time he was 25.

His interest in music began very early, he was told that he started crying for the Ilimba, widely known as the thumb at an early age of three, his brothers decided to make a small Ilimba for him which he plucked while still on his mothers back. A story by his mother goes that she once was on a train to somewhere, and Anania still on his mother’s back was plucking the Ilimba and money was showered on his mother at te appreciation of his performance, it was enough money to feed the family for a week. By 1972 when he was about twelve, he was participating in his school choir and in several other choirs including his church choir, sometimes playing the Ilimba and even the accordian. In 1987 he decided to shift from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam where the big music scene was. With only a single trouser and a shirt in sandals made from old tyres he arrived in Dar es Salaam and his first band was The Jambo Stars where he was enrolled as a singer. One day the late Lovy Longomba, who was then Band-leader of Afrisongoma Band saw him and invited him to his band which was a much bigger band than the Jambo Band, so 1988 he crossed over to the new band. Due to working bad conditions of the band, Anania and some other musicians crossed over to Legho Stars Band which was led by another veteran musician Tchimanga Assossa and here he began playing the guitar too in the band, by 1991 Anania was in another band The Ramchoc Band, this band was led by a lady, but the band did not survive long. He reemerged with the TACOSODE Band where he was the band leader of this small but a memorable band that was loved wherever it performed, and here he began playing the Ilimba and tuning it to fit the rest of the band instrument, but the band disintegrated after its Russian made band equipment ground to a stop. Anania then joined the Tango Stars he was here for two years. By this time John Kitime had managed to introduce Anania to Sigbjorn Nedland the music producer from Norway who recognized Ananias great potential and got him in various projects that involved artists from many countries in the world. Through Sigbjorn Nedland, Anania participated in a song with Kriss Kristofferson, Nordic Black Theatre, now The Karafuu Band, he has shared studios with Zapp Mama, Kris Kristopherson, and has toured with Bela FleK ,Mradi Group just got together and recorded and did a few performances in Oslo Norway.