this period. Bands such as Waaberi and Horseed have gained a small following outside of the country. Others, like Ahmed Ali Egal, Maryam Mursal and Waayaha Cusub have fused traditional Somali music with pop, rock and roll, bossa nova, jazz, and other modern influences. Music recorded in the 1970s was preserved in Hargeisa, buried underground, and is now available at the Red Sea Foundation at the Hargeisa Cultural Center, and in Radio Hargeisa. The Barre dictatorial regime effectively nationalised the music scene, with bands and production under state control. Bands were operated by the police, the army and the national penitentiary. Female singers were encouraged more than was the case in most of East Africa. Most musicians had left the country before 1991. Hiddo Dhawr is now operating as the only live music venue in the city. Music institutions The first radio station in Somalia to air popular Somali music was Radio Kudu based in Hargeisa, modern-day Somaliland. The first song to be broadcast was composed by Guroon Jire in 1940 in English, Somali and Arabic, before being renamed the following year to Radio Somali. The head of the Music department was Mohamed Saeed (Guroon jire). Music is now regularly broadcast on the state-run Radio Mogadishu,a number of private studio named Sony Music Somalia a division of Sony Music Entertainment as well radio popular television networks such as Horn Cable Television (a private company which is based in Somaliland). List of Somali musicians and musical groups Aar Maanta Abdi Qays Abdi Sinimo Abdullahi Qarshe Ahmed Gacayte Ahmed Mooge Liban Ali Feiruz Nimco Omer Yasminah Dur-Dur Band Doni B Guduuda 'Arwo Gulled Simba Hasan Adan Samatar Hassan Sheikh Mumin Jiim Sheikh Muumin Khadija Qalanjo K'naan Magool Maryam Mursal Mohamed Mooge Liban Mohamed Nuur Giriig Saado Ali Warsame Sulekha Ali Waayaha Cusub Mohamed Sulayman Tubeec Hudeidi Xiddigaha Geeska See also Middle Eastern music Music of Ethiopia Notes References Ministry of Information and National Guidance, Mogadishu, Somalia (1974). Somali Culture and Folklore Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji (2003) Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Scarecrow Press. Puchowski, Douglas (2013). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 1. Routledge,