Confusoes1 ... and Soul of Angola

LISTEN: (Look at "Listen Tracks")


Most Brazilians love Africa in an irrational way, as if they were living with one foot into this invisible and real place within which their ancestors' spirits live.

On the Brazilian scene Mauricio Pacheco was a musician and producer from the 90ies onwards. His group, Stereo Maracaná, played a sort of capoeira-hip hop, while amongst his productions we find artists like Fernanda Abreu and Jussare Sliveira. In 2000 he was strongly attracted to Angola, where he collaborated with modern sembe of the kuduro stars. Ten years ago Angola had not exited yet from the last civil war which literally devastated the country from independence onwards.

But this story begins earlier.

During the sixties, while the rest of Africa was freeing itself from colonialism, the fascist Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar did not want to give up to the fight for independence of the Angolans and of other colonies. It was in fact since 1500 that Portugal had subjugated Angola, whose population was mainly destined as slave in the Brazilian plantations.


At the end of the fifties Angolan independence movements starting appearing, one of which the Movimento Popolare per la Liberazione dell’Angola (MPLA) of Agostino Neto, sustained by the Soviet Union and Cuba and the antagonist Unione Nazionale per l’Indipendenza Totale dell’Angola di Jonas Savimbi, sustained by the US and by South Africa. Five years starting from 1957 and from the liberation of Ghana, almost all the African colonies obtained their independence.

Only Salazar resisted, strongly intentioned to show the whole world his colonies as example of development, based on a strong promiscuity of people and cultures, as opposed to France and England, this always characterized the portgues colonialism. From 1961 Salazar favoured the transfer of people and means to the colonies; he started up initiatives with the aim of recognizing the indigenous cultures and a politic of economic integration. It was at that time that the state record company CDA and la Voz de Angola, a national radio which transmitted in local languages.

Pushed by a lot of energy, the new Angolan music had in that period an incredible development. In the musseques, the sand subburbs of Luanda, in Sambizanga, Marçal, Bairro Operaio e Sao Paulo, local genres like semba and rebita, already contaminated by the Portuguese melancholy of the fado, would mix up with the sounds of the Brazilian samba, with the Congolese rumba and rock. They were young urban bands like Kiezos, the Gingas, the Jovens do Prendo, the Ngoleiros do Ritmo and Bongos. Although most of this music incarnated the fever of the Angolans for independence, for some strange reason its rise was favoured by the paternal politics of the despot.


was on this scene that artists like Teta Lando, Artur Nunes, Bonga, Urbano De Castro, Oscar Neves, Avozinho, Minguito and many other heroes of Angolan music exploded. They compose the wonderful mosaic of the double CD Soul of Angola – anthologies de la musique angolaise 1965-1975, released by French Lusafrica in 2001. There are no words to describe the vitality, the flow, the joy and the melancholy of the voices and electric guitars of this music which vividly talks about a dream never came true and of ideals destined to disillusion for a long time.

Independence finally arrived on 11 November 1975, and Agostino Neto was elected first president. But Angola's petrol revealed itself, like in many other cases, its disgrace, and the civil war kept on burning, fed by the will of foreign powers. The opposers led by Jonas Svaimbi, helped by the South African apartheid troupes and armed by the US, had battled with the regular army empowered by the Cubans and armed by the Soviet Union, giving life to a civil war which lasted 25 years, only interrupted by short armistice, it left on the Angolan land more than a million victims. Neto died in 1979 and was followed by Josè Edoardo dos Santos, who also came from the MPLA. This war finally ended only in 2002, with the death of Savimbi, and it has left the country on its knees and today is still facing the rebuild on the basis of its enormous richness.

This is how we find the Brazilian musician Mauricio Pachecho in an Angola that is going through a phase of new development and hope, where the musical scene sees the new global music explode besides the old heroes of semba and rebita. For more than ten years the young Angolans have danced to the kizoba and mostly to kuduro fiery sound that accelerated the rhythms of semba and mixes them with house music, rap, ragga and zouk.

During the 60ies and 70ies Mauricio Pacheco tried to select some of historical successes’ of the time and has put together songs of contemporary Angolan musician like Paolo Flores, Elias Dia Kimuezo – king of semba - and the star of kuduro Dog Murras. He has then worked them with filters and electronic sonorities, adding some instruments for the most famous Brazilian DJs to remix, amongst which Mario Caldato JR - producer of Bestie Boys, Jack Johnson and Beck – DJ Dolores, Moreno Veloso, Kassin & Berna Ceppas and Pacheco himself.

The result is Comfusoes 1, a record with Angolan label Maianga Discos and distributed in the world by Out | Here Records, this title is a play on words. From confusion to musical fusion coming from afar countries where the cultures are tightly tied, both in some way being the first synthesis of new music. From three songs from Comfusoes many other success come from which are included in Soul of Angola and it is interesting to see how music of artists such as Artur Nunes, Avozinho and Alvarito is remixed and integrated today with the sounds and rhythms of the Brazilian vanguard.

It is unavoidable that also from Africa the music is danceable for those new global tastes. I would in fact say that this is positive if there is a resource return and some recognition. But the sensation is that the raw Angolan music, also that of 40 years ago, sounds lively and original still today and that acts well done like Comusoes are much more than a good packaging. It has nothing to do with being nostalgic, but simply we ask ourselves if the Angolan music evolution and Africans’ music in general has no other choice but to pass through the electronic meat grinders of the world, or if there could be space for an alternative way that draws from the hearts of the rich musical African cultures to project it forward. This for us would really be new music.



Listen Tracks:

1. Chofer de Praça - Luiz Visconde (Soul of Angola)
2. Chofer de Praca - Luis Visconde e Alvarito, remix M. Pacheco (Comfusoes1)
3. Kisua Ki Ngui Fuá - Artur Nunes (Soul of angola)
2. Tia - Artur Nunes remix Mario Caldato JR (Confusoes1)
5. Máma Divua Diame - Avozinho (Soul of Angola)
6. Kappopola Makongo - Ciros Cordeiro da Mata remix Moreno Veloso (Confusoes1)
7. 8. Semba da Ilha - Jovens do Prendo (Soul of Angola)

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Author: AAVV
Title: Comfusoes1 - from Angola to Brasil
Year: 2009
Label: Out Here Records

Tracks:
1. Teta Lando - Angole
2. Artur Nunes - Tia
3. Avonzinho - Mama Divua Diame
4. Bonga - Kapakiao
5. Carlos Lamartine - Nzambi nzambi
6. Wyza - Mae
7. Carlos Lamartine - Kuale N'go Valodo
8. Luis Visconde e Alvarito - Chofer de Praca
9. Paulinho Pinheiro - Merengue rebita
10. Ciros Cordeiro da Mata - Kappopola Makongo
11. Kissanguela - Cada Cidad o Deve Sentir-se um Soldado
12. Elias di Kimuezo - Zom zom

_____________________________________

Author: AAVV
Title: Soul of Angola - anthologie de la musique angolaise 1965/1975
Year: 2001
Label: Lusafrica

Tracks:
1. Chofer de Praça - Luiz Visconde
2. Mana - Artur Nunes
3. Zinha - Artur Nunes
4. Tia - Artur Nunes Listen
5. Dito Zé - Artur Nunes
6. Kisua Ki Ngui Fuá - Artur Nunes
7. Princeza Rita - Os Kiezos
8. Saudades de Luanda - Os Kiezos
9. Kughinguengambá - Os Kiezos
10. Muxima - Os Kiezos
11. Memorias de Lamartine - Os Kiezos
12. Kiá Lumingo - Urbano De Castro
13. Maria da Horta - Urbano De Castro
14. N'Vula - Urbano De Castro
15. Eme N'Ggongo Iami - Tanga
16. N'Hoca - Tony Tvon
17. N'Ginda - Tony De Fumo
18. Tia Sessa - Oscar Neves
19. Mundanda - Oscar Neves
20. Mabelé - Oscar Neves
21. Nzzambi - Oscar Neves

1. Pachanga de Juventade - Paulino Pinheiro
2. Genro Ciumento - Paulo 9
3. Fazer Bem - Paulo 9
4. Máma Divua Diame - Avozinho
5. Sakeça Mukongo - Avozinho
6. Lena - Os Bongos
7. Solista Praguejado - Jovens do Prendo
8. Semba da Ilha - Jovens do Prendo
9. Coio - Jovens do Prendo
10. África Merengue - Jovens do Prendo
11. Palace - Jovens do Prendo
12. N'Gandala Ku Uganhala O Fuma - Minguito
13. Mona Ku Jimbre Manheno - David Zé
14. Pangui Yami Uafua - Tony Gaetano
15. Kamba Ba Laumba - Antonio Paulino
16. Ambula N'Gui Zeka - Quim dos Santos
17. Socana N'Gam - Adolfo Coelho
18. Tino Mungo Yo Dimba Diobe - Tino Dia Kimuezo
19. Kibela Kiame - Tino Dia Kimuezo