on the musical scene: Well-known singers were Um el Hassan el Shaygiya and most of all, Aisha al Falatiya, who as early as 1943 was the first woman to sing on Sudanese radio. Another outstanding female singer and political activist of the years before and after Sudan's independence in 1956 was Hawa Al-Tagtaga, who left a long lasting influence for the "moral and cultural legitimacy she bestowed on younger generations of Sudanese women singers who follow her tradition", as critic Magdy El Gizouli put it. During the 1970s, a wave of new women's groups became prominent on stage and the radio. Most famous among these was a band composed of three sisters called Al Balabil (transl.: The Nightingales). They formed as a band in 1971, appeared on many live and TV shows and became very popular across East Africa. The 1980s saw the rise of Hanan Bulu Bulu, a singer whose performances were deemed by some as sensual and provocative. She was repeatedly detained by the authorities and even beaten up by hardliners. International popular genres like Western dance music, rock or pop music and African-American music have had a profound effect on modern Sudanese music. As in other African countries, one of these influences were the military brass bands. Playing in such bands attracted many young military recruits, who later carried their newly learned music style and instruments over to popular music. The result was a kind of dance music, referred to as (Sudanese) jazz, which was not related to the American style of jazz, but similar to other modern dance music styles throughout East Africa. Prominent band leaders in this era include Abdel Gadir Salim and Abdel Aziz El Mubarak, both of whom have achieved international fame and distribution of their albums. In retrospect, the 1960s up to the 80s were called 'The Golden Age of Sudanese popular music'. This period was documented by re-issued albums in 2018, when researchers from the US and Germany were looking for still existing recordings from that era. Out of this research, several digitised albums of popular music from Sudan were digitally remastered. These included stars like Abdel Aziz El Mubarak, Kamal Tarbas, Khojali Osman, Abu Obeida Hassan, Kamal Keila, Sharhabil Ahmed, Hanan Bulu Bulu, Samira Dunia and, most famously, Mohammed Wardi and have become available on the international market. A special place among musicians from Sudan can be granted to composer,