This genre of music is bound to make you dance!

We had to brush up on our knowledge of African countries while exploring the genre and oh boy, was it worth it!

It was such a serendipitous experience to get introduced to a country because of their music. We are sure you will cherish this connection too! So, let’s talk about what Kuduro is and where it is from.

KuduroΒ 

KuduroΒ or kuduruΒ is both, a type of music and dance which originates from Angola in the 1980s. It looks like this:

Kuduro has characteristic music which is very lively, energetic and upbeat. It makes you dance, needless to say. The catch is there is a kuduro dance form too and it’s pretty rad!Β The name of the dance refers to an unusualΒ movement ( as you can see above) in which the dancers seem to have hard buttocks (“Cu Duro” in Angolan Portuguese). This makes it a very distinct dance form.

Angola

Angola is the seventh largest country inΒ Southern Africa. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda. Angola was inhabited ever since the paleolithic era but what’s interesting is that, the modern country was influenced by Portuguese colonisation and hence, most of it’s culture represents theirs. As a result, Kuduro music mostly has Portuguese lyrics.

Credits: africaranking.co

Origin Of Kuduro

Kuduro can be traced back toΒ Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s. Initially, producers sampled traditional carnival musicΒ from the Caribbean, and laid it around aΒ 4/4 beat. In the 19th century, European settlers slowly began to establish themselves in the the country and with time,Β European and American electronic music had begun appearing in the market. This attracted the angolan musicians to publicize their own rich genres of music.

History and PresentΒ 

The history of kuduro in the times of civil war of Angola and it provided a means of coping with the loss and separation for the younger generations. With immigration, kuduro has since traveled past border to places like Lisbon and Portugal. This music further got incorporation of Western European electronic music, and gave rise toΒ progressive kuduro. Popularised by the Buraka Som Sistema, kuduro dance performance videos finds inquisitive audience on YouTube.

M.I.A’s involvement with genre has further intensified its popularity. M.I.A supported kuduro music, working on the song “Sound of Kuduro” with Buraka Som Sistema in Angola. The music video documents the music and dancing style from Angola and popularises the beats of kuduro.

I Love Kuduro Music Festival

There is a large travelling festival dedicated to the Kuduro genre of music, dance and lifestyle. This gathering of thousands of people was created by Angolan artist CorΓ©on DΓΊ in 2011. Events have been premiered in places such as Showcase Club in Paris and Arena Club in Berlin under the name Kuduro Sessions. A mix of the songsΒ of many artists who performed at the Kuduro Sessions is a must listen for anyone who wants to groove to the music.

The event has happened annually in Luanda, with various events in cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Rio de Janeiro, New York and Washington DC. A recent event at the 2014 TechnoParade in Paris, as the Os Kuduristas focused mainly on bringing Kuduro to fans around the world.

Maybe you can attend the next I Love Kuduro Festival!