"Beijinhos"

Mozambique’s greatest popular band, Ghorwane, has produced only three albums since it formed in 1983.  The group’s international debut, Majurugenta (Real World 1993) established it as a major player in Southern African music with a rousing, soulful blend of guitars, horns, drums, and fabulously harmonizing voices.  The group’s singers imbued the concerns of common people with the force of high art.  And Ghorwane’s followup, Kudumba (Piranha, 1997), proved equally strong.  But the path has never been easy.  As Mozambique emerged from years of bitter civil war, the country faced dire economic challenges.  Its music industry had never been developed, and when at last free to grow, it gravitated towards jazz from South Africa and Cape Verdean pop, offering no support to roots pop, let alone traditional music.  Very much a peoples’ band, Ghorwane received little commercial consideration in this environment.  Then, in 2001, founding member, guitarist and songwriter, Pedro Langa was killed.  Many thought the band couldn’t survive, but they underestimated the creativity and spirit of the survivors in Ghorwane.

Though a long time in coming, this album demolishes any notion of Ghorwane’s demise with impeccable musicianship, production, and songwriting artistry.  These pieces are as powerful as any the band has created.  “Beijinhos” opens things up with the cool swing of South African jazz and a tasty vocal hook.  The song celebrates the love life of the musician who shares everything, but always remains “a player.”  The title track, a pumping, melancholy anthem about exploitation, builds around chief composer Robert Chitsonza’s rich vocal.  “Kandifuna” pumps beneath a crying melody with the earthy drive of South African Shangaan music, while “Guidema” plays a little like an ambling, Cape Verdean morna.  Despite a rich array of influences and souces, what we get above all in these 13 tracks is a completely original sound.  Whether reworking a children’s dance (“Xichukete”), or engaging in spontaneous group creation (“Tlhivhi”), Ghorwane’s sound and spirit are singular and unmistakable.  The sound is big but uncluttered, as layerings of voices, horns, percussion, guitars and keyboards paint vivid sonic landscapes.  There’s a pervasive air of melancholy and seriousness that elevates the music to an emotional plane more fun-loving, celebratory Afropop just can’t reach.  At the same time, even when the subject is the suffering of the war years (“Xindzavane”), the loss of solidarity among people (“Thanga”), or the violent consequences of sexual bad behavior (“Ubiwilotolo”), the music is never a downer.  Its transcendent beauty prevails over all sadness.

Roberto Chitsonzo composed most of these songs, and their superb and memorable melodies testify to his awesome talent.  There are also two songs by the late Pedro Langa, --the lyrical lullaby of war, “Thiary,” and the rootsy, polyrhythmic “Ndzava,” also a remembrance of war—and one song by Zeca Alage, a founding band member killed in 1993, just before the band broke internationally.  Ghornwane pays homage to its past and its fallen even as it charts a strong new course for the future.  An album loaded with sweet, melodic hooks and inventive arranging flourishes, Vana Va Ndota was worth the wait.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org