About African Music Library

Music and sounds have been part of life since the beginning of time.

Humans have been knocking sticks, and rocks together to produce melody since we became. From playing the Tutankhamun’s Trumpets to the earliest flutes to the Barra drums, dance circles music has continuously evolved and diverged. In Africa, instruments are as diverse as the people who use them.

As of today, African music history is sparse, and much information, genres, and instruments are lost to time, genres are misrepresented even within the communities where they were birthed.

The recognition, documentation, and preservation of these sounds are the purpose of this library. The African music library was created as a historical journey, to chronicle not just all things music in Africa, but as a place to create community, spark discussions, and learn.

We are documenting all music made in Africa, artist metadata, instruments, books, and articles that reference Music in Africa.

We hope the African Music Library will galvanize a community of bright minds in African music - academics, music makers, engineers, and anthropologists. This community, we hope, will form a foundation for the standardized knowledge exchange needed to build intelligent technologies around African music.

Welcome to the African Music Library.

Explore! Have fun!

Meet the Team

 
Emmanuel Ogala
Emmanuel OgalaPresident
Jideofor Okoro
Jideofor OkoroVice President
Anu Onasanya
Anu OnasanyaDirector, Programs
Join AML

We're Hiring!

Programs Manager

If you're passionate about African music and culture, have program management experience, and want to make a difference, we want to hear from you!

 
Apply now