mbonganology
Don’t ask where I come from, but try to know who I am today, who I will be tomorrow and in the future.
What can I say - I am African.
I present myself as a musician, painter and human rights activist.
As a musician I got influenced by different styles of music, from the traditional African music to the world music.
I play several traditional African music instruments, like mbira, xylophone, birimbau, kora and percussion.
I am influenced by various styles of African popular music like Mbacanga, Mascanda, Marabenta, Muthimba, Chimurenga,
Semba, Kwasa Kwasa, Makossa, Afro beat, Mbala, etc! ...
With western music styles I got in touch as well, such as Jazz, Jazz fusion, Funk fusion, Blues, Bossa nova, Samba,
Salsa, Cha cha cha or Tango. Right now I am interested in sounds and rhythms of eastern countries like India, Israel,
Pakistan.
I was fortunate to grow up listening to different styles of Jazz, because my mother is a great lover of jazz and
African music from different sources.
I had a particular passion for the movement's jazz in Cape Town, called ‘capejazz’.
At home I was watching a video of Bill Cosby. The background music was what was interesting me more, I wanted to
know who was the composer and interpreter. Later I got to know that it is Bobby McFerrin and more than 6 or 7 years
later I finally got a tape with songs of Bobby McFerrin. That was the moment when I decided that could be my direction
of playing and singing african music and so I started practicing. I never had the chance to show this product in africa,
or at my country. My first appearance in this kind of music style has been at a concert in Los Angeles. There I was
given the chance to show what I am able to do with my voice and the Mbira by the singer Mary Wilson.
Over several years I acquired many experiences performing with various musicians and bands in various corners of this
planet until the time I decided that I have to meet myself, I felt secure with what I was doing, and already surpassed
the barriers of fear and culture and so I gave opportunity for my individual creativity.
I define the music I am doing as world music with influence of African music and rhythms with jazz fragments because
first I'm a lover of well done music made and played in the world and second because I have done and I'm doing several
experiments with musicians of various nationalities and music influences.
I can not say I have a certain style of music, so I call ‘mbonganology’ as a way to express myself in music and
painting without real classification, which gives the freedom to people to give a name but it is just to remember
that the music comes from improvisation.
My first solo project - entitled "behind displacement" - is a tribute to the Congo and other African countries in
crisis as one way to say stop to the war and the injustice Congolese and other Africans are going through because
the greed and selfishness of industrialized countries and their multinational companies. I try to explain with art
and music to africans and other people my understanding why Africa is condemned to this dilemma of chronic war and
poverty, exploitation, epidemics and pandemias and emigration, which are the reasons causing this chaos in a continent
which is actually rich enough to sustain itselfs if there where no external malicious political interference.
I have chosen to record "behind displacement" alone or in form of “acappella, polyvocal, polyphony” whatever,
because I understand myself better when I am working alone; I like to work with bands too, but for this project
just me alone.
Second reason that prompted me to write "behind displacement" alone is because I like the vulnerability and freedom
of being in the studio alone without instruments and create a sound in the way I can imagine as a music instrument
or voice.
And third: As a refugee in Germany I moved to one of the countries in which it is most difficult to succeed as a musician,
painter, sculptor or in general as african artist. I arrived and saw a lot of frustration in the community of african
artists around me, so I decided to do this work alone.
Improvisation is one of the most important part to me since it gives the freedom of exploiting a particular theme,
where the vulgar ugly become beautiful, I feel the hair raising.
PAINT
coming soon…