My name is Catherine Barnes, and I’ll be contributing a series of articles to this blog on Angolan semba and Brazilian samba. I’m a percussionist and armchair ethnomusicologist fascinated by all rhythms African and of the African diaspora. I recently returned from studying samba in Rio de Janeiro, which is also where I encountered Angolan semba music for the first time. I became interested in the similarities and differences in the two styles, and what better place to explore them than here at Akwaaba Music?
Angolan semba and Brazilian samba share a common ancestor: the massemba dance from central Angola. Known as umbigada, or “belly-bumping” in Portuguese, the dance is characterized by a hip thrust meant to mimic the act of procreation. (source)
Here’s a Brazilian umbigada group performing at the First Forum in Defense of Popular Traditions in Piracicaba, Brazil:
Now check out this recent video of couples dancing semba in Luanda, Angola. Notice the “belly-bumping” movements at 1:40.
Although samba is usually danced without a partner, samba da gafieira, or ballroom samba, has become very popular, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Seu Jorge even featured it in the video for his hit song “Carolina” :
Keep checking back for more information on the similarities and differences between Angolan semba and Brazilian samba!
Luanda’s emerging bourgeoisie is getting served by a young generation of designers… read on here. The photo reminds us of this fantastic book about the Sapeurs in Brazzaville.
Akwaaba meets Killamu in front of his home and studio in Luanda, Angola. Killamu’s been making kuduro beats for close to a decade, and explains the stories and realities of kuduro in Angola today. We highly recommend you watch the video in HD on Vimeo!
Enjoy the tease, Killamu’s full length album comes out January 12, 2010. If you haven’t already, go download Killamu’s song Flaminguinho right here for free.
Awesome, AWESOME mix of early (earlier?) kuduro, by Galliano, the first western dood we knew to push kuduro back in 2005 – 2006. If you read French, this interview is very interesting, it’s nice to see someone speak openly, even if it might piss people off. And it will ;p
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Bintou Simporé is following up with Akwaaba’s founder Benjamin Lebrave, after a first interview in december 2008, right after the launch of our first release.
Bintou is the historic “sono mondiale” pusher, big supporter of a wide range of sounds from Africa – her show Néo Géo’s been on the air since 1992!! Learn about Bintou – and practice your French – here.
What? Where? When? 6pm Paris time (GMT + 1), 101.5FM in Paris, novaplanet.com for the rest of us.
In 1975, Angola became independent from Portugal, months after the fall of Salazar’s Estado Novo. Rather than repeat the story, read it in wikipedia. To celebrate Angola and its culture, Julia of Africa Kabisa on WMBR is having an Angolan music special on Sunday Nov 22, 4-6pm EST. Julia will interview Akwaaba founder Benjamin Lebrave between 5 and 6pm. Tune in at 88.1FM in the greater Boston area, or stream at wmbr.org, or get the direct stream link… here. Learn more about Africa Kabisa here.
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