Nov 11/05
Landmines and a calming semba
Many thanks to Benn loxo listener, Richard, for sending me some great music this week. Much appreciated.
A couple of you have asked for any Angolan music that’s “not Bonga”. A little while ago I featured some music from mid-1970s Angola, stuff released shortly before the Angolan government’s shut-down of all things cultural. Today we’ll hear some contemporary Angolan music by Waldemar Bastos.
Bastos, like most of Angola’s popular musicians with the resources to do so, fled Angola in the mid-70s before the country descended into decades of civil war. People like Bonga headed up to Holland, while Bastos moved to various countries in the USSR. Eventually he settled in Brazil for many years where he restarted to redevelop his musical career, mixing Brazilian samba with Angolan semba. He released his first album, Estamos Juntos, while living in Brazil and began to earn immediate success.
Bastos moved to Portugal in the 1990s where he continues to record and release music. Today’s track comes off his first wide-release, 1998′s Pretaluz. He’s often touring around Europe and North America, so keep an eye-out on those world music tickets if you’re into checking him out live.
Tags: angola, portugal
You’ve probably featured music from the “Soul of Angola 1975-1995″ compilation and the Buda Musique series “Angola 60s” “Angola 70s” (2 vols.) “Angola 80s” and now “Angola 90s”. Extraordinary stuff (the 60s one in particular), a cross-pollination of Portuguese fado-esque soul, Congolese rumba style, and pre-war Central African guitar vamping. Some of the later stuff is reminescent of the amazing Kinshasa and Kampala sounds that John Storm Roberts brought to us on his Orignal Music label years ago. Anyway, check that Buda Musique series out for some real gems!
I had the pleasure of seeing Bastos live in Detroit at a neighborhood cultural festival. He played an amazing set in a tiny tent sandwiched between the face painters and the barbecue stand. It was just him, a bass player and a drummer; when they started out no one was paying them much mind, but by the time he finished his fourth song, the place was packed. He finished with an impressive cover of Cesaria Evora’s tune “Angola.”
I had an Angolan classmate at the time and we went together; afterwards, we sat and talked with Bastos for a long time. He was as soft-spoken and calm as you’d expect from his music; he and my classmate got on like old friends.
I’ve got heaps of music from all over the world, but Angola seems to be one of those musical black holes. Besides Bastos and Independencia (and those Buda Musique albums that I’ll have to track down), I draw a blank. Would love to hear some more artists from there. (Would also love to hear more from Lagbaja!)
And Matt – hope all is well. You’ve been away for so long, I’m sure I’m not the only one missing your posts!
for more sounds from this country, i just posted some Angolan kuduro mp3s on my blog (from Helder Rei Do Kuduro) here:
http://www.negrophonic.com/words/archives/archive_2005-m12.php#e282