Mata Group | CTM Festival

Mata is a 75 year legendary blind thumb piano (Akalimba-thumb piano) player from Iganga, a town in the Busoga region in Eastern Uganda.

Mata Group, still from Nyege Nyege 2020 video production — Photo: Nyege Nyege

His music was first recorded in the 1960’s by British ethnomusicologist Peter Cook. Mata is considered a local musical hero, and is celebrated for his traditional Soga compositions. His performance for Nyege Nyege 2020, presented again at CTM 2021, represents his first ever filmed performance.