In the late 90s, dancer Sebastião Lopes was experimenting with the production software FruityLoops in his hometown of Luanda, Angola. Wanting to create harder, faster music to move to, he sped up the clattering folk rhythms of semba and kilapanga with layered synthesisers and techno-influenced drum production, creating a fresh sound that blended US dance music with the Angolan drumming tradition.
It turned out he had independently arrived at kuduro, which had already been bubbling through speakers since the late 80s thanks to the work of producers such as Tony Amado. Kuduro (meaning “hard ass”) provided the soundtrack for young Angolans during the country’s civil war. Lopes, under his moniker DJ Znobia, was prolific and crossed over internationally in 2008 thanks to the track Sound of Kuduro, a collaboration with Portuguese group Buraka Som Sistema and rapper MIA.
Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes has now delved into his archive of more than 700 productions to produce a four-volume retrospective, Inventor. Where other kuduro producers such as Amado focused on melodic vocals and Sistema pushed towards the wobble of EDM bass, Lopes’s musical identity lies in his raw minimalism. On the 11 tracks of Volume 1, he showcases his lo-fi charm, from the harsh hi-hats and clipped toms of opener Marimba, to the thumping distortion of Zambinamina and crackling bass of Pausa.
Lopes is unafraid to make these tracks feel as if they are on the verge of falling apart before pulling back into a ground-shaking groove, as on the jittery Wo. He is also freewheeling with his tempos, producing in the typical 130-140bpm range of kuduro, as well as slowing down to 100bpm. The latter doesn’t always work, with Piquena feeling monotonous, yet highlight Esfregado brings to mind the dubby dembow of producer DJ Python. Lopes may be rough-edged but Inventor displays his ingenuity and capacity to make dancefloors shake.
Also out this month
Kavita Shah’s Cape Verdean Blues (Folkalist Records) is a gorgeous blend of finger-picked guitar and hand percussion, paying tribute to Cape Verdean vocalist Cesária Évora and drawing on jazz, through Shah’s scatting, as much as folk tradition in its selection of standards. Sitar player Anoushka Shankar releases the first volume in a trilogy of albums for Nils Frahm’s Leiter label, Chapter I: Forever, For Now. Sometimes veering too close to ambience, its four tracks still contain imaginative soundscapes, culminating in the joyous harmonies of closing number Sleeping Flowers (Awaken Every Spring). Malian n’goni master Idrissa Soumaoro’s latest album, Diré (Mieruba), stands out thanks to his deep, emotive baritone vocal, yearning soulfully over intricate melodies on Sally and Diré Taga.
