Iftin Band

Iftin Band were a funk and R&B unit in Somalia during the 1970s and '80s. "Iftin" translates as "sunshine," and during their heyday they provided the aural variety at discos, weddings, street parties, during intermission at the National Theater, and at makeshift clubs for well-heeled locals, traveling businesspeople, and tourists. Their rhythm-driven sound crisscrossed and combined dhaanto roots music, Nigerian Afrobeat, Kenyan benga, and funky American-style jazz with Congolese rhumba, Asian modalism, rocksteady reggae, and Banadaari rhythms delivered by brass, winds, electri...