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!
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.
By far the baddest, biggest edition of Bomb Diggy will be the Amsterdam Dance Event Special!
a serious line-up will wreck the floor and smash a horny vibe in your face till 05:00 in the morning:
- yes.. a special set with the hottest baile funk tunes by European adopter Daniel Haaksman!
- the live deep and analog hiphoppedy global tech kicks of soundboy Filastine, together with MC Nova from Indonesia!
- BBRAVE from Akwaaba Music with the true African sounds, banging from calypso, hiplife, kuduro and back to Ghanian roots!
- Raving bassline and no-mercy bouncers from the one and only AC Slater!
- the brothers from Lisbon with their soca fueled bashment and kuduro influenced afro-electro: Octa Push!
- supported by the deep dubstep sounds from new kid on the block Tommy Tequila!
- and rounded off with the records of residents Mataklap, Makks & Ru-D
IF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE HOUSE/TECHNO PARTYING AND SEEK OTHER SOUNDS ON THE AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT FESTIVAL:
COME TO THE OT301 ‘CAUSE THAT’S WHERE THE TROPICAL BASS IS GONNA KICK!
stay tuned if you want to win tickets for this night!
NO PRE-SALE!!!! SO DON’T BE TOO LATE!!!!
bye friends!
Bomb Diggy crew
23. October 2009 22:00
OT301, Amsterdam
Daniel Haaksman (Man Recordings), Filastine (Soot Records, Shockout), Octa Push (Iberian Records, Soul Jazz), AC Slater (Trouble & Bass), BBRave (Akwaaba Music), Tommy Tequila (New Kid on the Block), Mataklap, Ru-D & Makks
In honor of all the maquis, chop bars and other bass pounding watering holes encountered on his journeys to Africa, BBRAVE compresses it all into one pungent hour of sweaty music, hiplife, coupé décalé, semba, kuduro and stuff we’re not sure how to classify… see for yourself:
Listen here:
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Le Shanghai, a big, big maquis rue Princesse in Yopougon, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
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Who’s they? undomondo.com, a very nice blog based in Turkey who feature all kinds of music, and have featured some of our releases in the past, in particular Mamou Sidibé here and there. Check them out, always on point + loads of freebies!!
To balance out our kuduro release, Akwaaba Sem Transporte, here is a beautiful collection of Carlos Lamartine’s recordings, from the mid 1960s til 1975. He was a member of several bands, including Os Aguias Reais, and was backed up by some of Luanda’s best conjuntos: Os Merengues, African Show.
Derek Rath, host of Cosmic Barrio every Sunday on KPFK, invites Akwaaba founder Benjamin Lebrave to talk about his recent trip to Angola, Angolan music, African music, Akwaaba, and more of that good stuff. Tune in at 6pm this Sunday July 12, KPFK 90.7fm in LA, online at www.kpfk.org, download here or just listen, right here:
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It’s time for an update: We’ve been in Angola for 2 weeks now, meeting many musicians both old and new, and mesmerized by the diversity of music here. What strikes us most is the newer kuduro, which stands somewhere between hip hop, techno and traditional African drumming. You can hear a sample and read more about it here.
We’re also looking for classic 1960sa and 1970s Angolan music, particularly the semba which served as a musical backdrop for the charged political and social messages of the last decade in colonial Angola. Today we spent the day with Carlitos Vieira Dias, son of Liceu Vieira Dias, one of the founders of Ngola Ritmos. For most Angolans, Ngola Ritmos epitomizes the strife musical resistance. Carlitos’ father for instance was sent to jail for a decade. Carlitos founded a number of bands and participated in many more, two of the most famous being Os Merengues and Africa Show.
Carlitos took me to Mangalha’s house in the Barrio Operario, also a historically charged part of town, a place where many artists lived and performed. We went through his ridiculous record collection, over 23,000 records in total, among which many, many Angolan gems, in various states of decay. Until we can all enjoy the music, enjoy these classic covers. Much, much more here.
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