I’ve never been to Mozambique but everyone who has seems to
think the place is simply fabulous. I
certainly like marrabenta music,
though. Here is a nice article on marrabenta, that pretty much sums up the
situation.
Mozambique: All Aboard
the Musical Marrabenta Train!
After a season of elections
and cyclones
in Mozambique, the country was owed some entertainment and good news. One of
the highlights of Mozambique's cultural calendar, the Marrabenta Festival
(celebrating its fifth year), came just in time.
The Festival consists of musical
events in the capital Maputo, with the highlight being an acoustic musical
train trip to Marracuene. The train picks up music fans for free along the way,
taking them to the Festival's finale, a lively outdoor concert that lasts until
dawn.
Marrabenta is a genre
of music closely linked to African urban life and modernity, making the train
trip a delightful match. Marrabenta arose in the south in the 1930s and 1940s,
the word coming from the verb rebentar (to break) which is a way people
describe dancing. One urban theory is that the word originally described cheap
guitar strings breaking with the energetic playing of musicians.
The genre was a mix of
traditional Mozambican rhythms and new guitar arrangements inspired by that
period's global explosion of popular music fuelled by radio. Pioneering artists
such as Dilon Djindji,
Fany Mpfumo,
and Wazimbo (and the Orchestra
Marrabenta Star) made an ever-lasting mark on Mozambican music.
Ever since its beginnings in
colonial Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), writes nostalgic website Xirico [pt]: The
music is one of the most distinguishing cultural features of the Mozambican
people. The first chord provokes the first movement that nobody taught. Then,
nobody can resist the chicuembo [a kind of invocation to the ancestors] of
marrabenta. The syncopated ‘breaking' by the hips, one hand of the nape of the
neck, the other behind the back, sensual movements…
The Festival is a breath
of fresh air in Mozambique and crucial to maintaining roots music, as critics
such as Fortunato of the Matapa blog
pull no punches in relation to contemporary music
Local music does get its
share of airplay here, but the thing, is, most of the current Mozambican
(popular) music is nowhere near as interesting as the echos from its past. On
Radio Maputo, you can hear a lot of local classics from the 70ies: they sound
totally amazing, a diverse and experimental blend of tradition with pop
influences. But nowadays about half of the musicians seem busy vocalizing the
fact that Mozambican musicians need to find their own style. The other half
seems more than happy selling whatever suits the mobile phone operators or the
governing party.
In clear contrast to this kind
of music were the headliners this year, the South African group the Mahotella Queens,
celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. They just reinforced the links between
popular South African music and Mozambican music, which have been intermingling
since well before the railroads linked Johannesburg with Mozambique's then
capital Lourenço Marques. Language groups transcends colonial borders, and the
musical languages of neighboring South Africa and southern Mozambique have a
great deal in common. (http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/02/06/mozambique-marrabenta-music-festival/)
While marrabenta
is a style built around the guitar, this collection from the good folks at
Rough Guide, features brilliant jazzy brass and cool steel drum sounds
too. It gets better all the time.
Track
Listing:
01 Maria Teresa
02 Matilde
03 Mahanhela
04 U Yo Mussiya Kwini
05 Othiawene
06 Anghena Bava Mula
07 Rosa
08 Tchela Kuwomile
09 Xigevengu
10 Shywelele
11 Sumbhulany
12 Africa
13 Marrabenta
14 Elisa Gomara Saia
15 Hlamalane
