Pretty fancy…. Clark is one of the sharpest culture mags in France at the moment, and it is a pleasure, scratch that, an honor to be featured in their pages!
In their own words (somewhat adjusted by our Franco-American team!):
“First compilation dedicated to kuduro from Angola, Akwaaba Sem Transporte is a striking demonstration of the creative potential within this unclassifiable ghetto music, born in the popular neighborhoods of Luanda over 15 years ago. Intoxicating rhythms, MCs burning the mic up, a raw, rugged sound and samples cut with a machete… the 15 tracks are a concentrate of energy straight from the streets, featuring the established names in the genre (Puto Prata, Notie e Día, Zoca Zoca…) as well as the new generation.”
Lisbon, Portugal’s own DJ Mpula, host of the Radio Fazuma show, connects with the Akwaaba team to revisit the Angolan gems collected on Akwaaba Sem Transporte. Adding a dash of his own potent production, this mix is sure to get your body in motion. And sure to give Angolan kuduro new means of transportation, directly to your ears.
DJ Mpula, animateur de l’émission Radio Fazuma à Lisbonne, au Portugal, prend le contrôle des manettes pour revisiter la compile Akwaaba Sem Transporte. Il y ajoute un soupçon de sa propre production, ce qui donne un mix fortiche, qui a priori devrait faire remuer vos arrières-trains. Et permet à ce kuduro Angolais de se déplacer plus proche encore de vos oreilles.
“DJ Mpula”, apresentador do programa Rádio Fazuma em Lisboa, Portugal, conecta-se com a equipe Akwaaba para revisitar as gemas coletadas na coletânia Akwaaba Sem Transporte. Adicionando um pouco de sua própria produção, potente, esse mix fará o seu corpo se mover. E com certeza dar kuduro angolano novos meios de transporte, diretamente a seus ouvidos.
At last… Akwaaba unleashes a wild collection of bangers from Luanda, Angola. Some of the big names are on there, Puto Prata, Noite e Día, Zoca Zoca, but some new comers (Os Mais Potentes, Figura) and total newbies too (F4, Gelú-Six). The album is available for purchase in the iTunes store, and you can listen to it on Fairtilizer.
Akwaaba Music, Mad Decent & Fairtilizer are happy to bring you the Ze Bula Remix Contest by Figura and DJ MJ, off of our Angolan kuduro compilation “Akwaaba Sem Transporte”.
3. Upload your remix on Fairtilizer and name it Ze Bula (your name Remix) and add “Akwaaba Music remix contest” in the tags.
Note: You have to register to Fairtilizer to be able to upload a track (it takes 30 seconds and it’s free)
4. The winner will be selected by Akwaaba Music.
Prize:
Best remix will be released on Akwaaba Music + get bonus goodies package by Akwaaba, Mad Decent & Fairtilizer.
Puto Mira (Vagabanda) at DJ Kobe’s studio in Marçal
Heroy (Vagabanda) at DJ Kobe’s studio in Marçal
DJ Stan & DJ Fofo’s studio in Marçal
DJ Fofo in the studio
On our travels throughout Africa, we’ve seen plenty of home studios where coupé décalé, hiplife and now kuduro hits are made. The studios are usually tiny, the PCs tend to crash a lot (what else is new), the speakers scream and the saturated bass rumbles. And singers, rappers flock to these studios to record songs, usually for $100 or so per track depending on the DJ and the country.
In Luanda, there are plenty of kuduro DJs, but many of them, and many of the more successful ones, live in Rangel and Marçal: DJ Fofu (DJ Fofeira) & DJ Stan, Dj Kobe & DJ Hernany, DJ Prole, DJ Bobo G, DJ Buda, Killamu… the list could go on. In the photos above, you can see the largest kuduro studio we saw, DJ Kobe’s spot, which he built inside a metal shipping container. It comes equipped with AC and… a bed, for happy ending studio sessions!
DJ Fofu’s setup is more typical: blue neon light, a large mirror to give the impression that 6 people are not crammed in 2 square meters… Every single time we went to the studio, there were a handful of kudurists waiting to record. Like a doctor’s office. Doors open at 8am, and Fofu and Stan keep at it until about 10pm every day. Plus DJ gigs on the week end, which rarely end before dawn… so it’s a busy schedule for these cats. And you’ll take notice when you listen to recent kuduro tracks, a “DJ Stan” vocoder or “DJ FOFEIRA” shout is almost mandatory for any respectable kuduro album!
