Waldemar Bastos, a veteran singer/songwriter from , recently released his first new album in seven years. ?Renascence? (Times Square) is a lush, guitar-rich exploration of Bastos?s multi-faceted cultural heritage, which spans the cultures of , the , , and Porgutal, where he now lives, and beyond. The album has a decidedly different sound from the spare ?Pretaluz? (1998, Luaka Bop), produced by Arto Lindsay. But the music and songs express the same soulful blend of uplift and melancholy that is Bastos?s trademark. On the eve of his Summer 2005 tour,
Banning Eyre: Good to speak with you again. The new album is beautiful. Waldemar Bastos.: Thank you very much. B.E.: Is this your first album since Pretaluz? W.B.: Yes. This album comes at a different moment in my life. Normally, when I sing, and compose, and write my music, I write about that moment in my life, what I see in the world, and people around me. But this record, Renascence, is about the future, the new future for the world and for my country. The perspective is much, much better overall. It is a more positive perspective. B.E.: You have a more positive perspective now than when you made Pretaluz. W.B.: Yes. Because I sang Pretaluz at a very difficult moment in history of
B.E.: Talk about the change in the sound of the music. You are using more instruments, bigger arrangements, a string section. Tell me a little bit about your conception of the music itself. W.B.: This record Renascence, for me, is more deeply of my heart. Sometimes, three guitars played together. They communicate. The guitars talk. It's the African style. I revive the style. For me, it is very important to renew this style, because it is a very good aesthetic of ancestral
B.E.: I hear that. W.B.: It's our ancestral style. For me, it is very important to show the people of the world this style. Because the guitars sing. The guitars don't just play. They sing too. The strings are important for me too, because my father play the cello when he played in church, many years ago. My musical life is long. I played at parties, I played many songs?rumba, tango, meringue, church music. I put my whole universe in this record, Renascence. I put all the feeling in my soul. On this record, I give more profoundly my knowledge gained over time. B.E.: You use very interesting guitar sounds as well, blending acoustic and electric, the electric played by Dizzy Mandjeku Lengo. W.B.: This man, Dizzy Mandjeku Lengo, and the bassist (Ahmed Barry), and the second guitarist (Toni Dudu) are really good, the best guitarists of
 B.E.: Tell me about the string section. Where are those players from? W.B.: They are Turkish. I love Turkish strings. I listen to many kinds of music in the world, many strings, but I love the strings of , so I put them in my record, because it's possible. It's necessary to make bridges between cultures, but truly, sincerely, honestly. That is my perspective, my reality, my feeling, my soul. It is necessary. In my band, there are people from many different countries. But it's natural. It is not rational, but spiritual. B.E.: So in your band, you have Turkey, Angola, ? W.B.: ?, , - B.E.: Wow. W.B.: But natural. Not intellectual, spiritual. B.E.: Let's talk about some of the songs, starting with ?Água do Bengo.? W.B.: The
B.E.: How would you describe the style of the song, musically? W.B.: This song is first of all in my style, Waldemar. In the second place, it is . And all the time, it is the ancestral music of Africa, especially the
B.E.: When we spoke six years ago, you told me that you like to have musical and rhythmic changes and a song, and that you are inspired in this by nature. You talked about how whether changes all the time and
W.B.: Yes, it's my feeling. It's my interpretation. I understand the beauty of the whole. There is day, there is night, there is sun, there is moon, there is rain. I put my interpretation of nature into the music.  B.E.: All in one song. W.B.: Yes. It's natural. It's not geologic. It's natural. The style is natural. It is my feeling. B.E.: Rhythmic changes in the middle of the song are common in Congolese music, aren't they? W.B.: Yes. But all the music on Renascence comes profoundly from within my soul. Many years ago, I had this dream to make one record this deep. I said to myself, "Waldemar, one day you must make a record where the guitars sing, with strings, and with all the perspectives of your life.? B.E.: Tell me about the song ?
W.B.: This is a song about a man who goes to war, but when he gets there, the war has stopped. There is no more war. Then, when he returns to his town, he visits his parents, but
B.E.: A common story, I'm sure. And what about the music this time? W.B.: The style is my style. It is the result of my understanding about music, about many musics. B.E.: You bring a lot of musical experiences, and Angola, in Brazil, in
W.B.: That was ?Pitanga Madura.? Pitanga is a fruit. Madura is red. Madurinha is very red. The song is the same, but the fruit at this moment is better, sweeter than before. The fruit represents peace. At this moment, the fruit is more red than before, because before there was war. Now there is peace. Madurinha is more mature. It is now more possible to live. B.E.: You have two versions of the song on this record. Tell me about the dancehall version you did with Chaka Demus. W.B.: Yeah, the remix. My producer, ?Groucho? Smykel, is a very good producer. He made what for me is the big record of my life. So I have great consideration for this man. Groucho Smykel is a big friend of Chaka Demus. So Chaka Demus listened to the music. He loved "Pitanga Madurinha.? So he sings. Chaka Demus love this music. That's the reason that he sings on the song. For me, it's okay, a very good result, because Jamaicans, centuries ago, came from
 B.E.: What about the song "Dongo?? W.B.: ?Dongo? talks about fishermen, about boats. It's the simple life of the fisherman, a simple life, but a very strong life. B.E.: How about ?Sabores de Terra,? a very beautiful, slow song? W.B.: In ?Sabores de Terra,? I am giving the ancestral value of , of
B.E.: Telling about the music, that strong, slow rhythm. W.B.: The rhythm I use is the rhythm of my soul. The voice is the voice of my soul, the voice of the mother of
B.E.: ?Twende Vossi? is another one with very interesting rhythmic changes. W.B.: Yes. The song talks about the music in the south of
B.E.: You?ve done a new recording of one of my favorite songs from Pretaluz, ?Kuribota.? W.B.: Ah, yes. [LAUGHS] Because ?Kuribota? is the problem of men. This is a man who is not positive. I do not have good words to explain, but ?Kuribota? is about a man who like wars between people. He doesn't loved friends. He doesn't love normally. He is a cynic. Hypocrisy. Jealousy. I don't know, but I think it is very important to talk about such people. When I sing in
B.E.: The message is in the music. W.B.: You like the new version?  B.E.: Yes, it is very rich. W.B.: Very rich, yes. The guitars are crying. B.E.: Do you go to
W.B.: Yes, I will go to after the . B.E.: When we talked six years ago, it was difficult for you to go there, but now you go often. W.B.: Yes. Yes, yes. But now, the people recognize me. There is peace, and people are struggling for peace. I am happy because people respect me and love me there. People recognize my work. People are very warm to me. B.E.: Do you perform there? If so, where? W.B.: Yes, yes. In
B.E.: Six years ago, you talked about your optimism, your hope for . It seems like things are better now. W.B.: I am an optimistic because I believe in God. I am optimistic all the time. B.E.: It seems your optimism has been rewarded. W.B.: Yes. 
B.E.: I think Sean Barlow and I will be coming to
W.B.: All the time, there are shows in B.E.: Really? W.B.: Yes, because the people love Angolan music. This is good for the artists of . B.E.: So there are lots of singers, lots of performers? W.B.: Yeah. Rap, many young voices, new perspectives, good energy, good dynamics. But, okay, there are many problems. Instruments, and all that. But there is soul, strong optimism. The people of
B.E.: Thank you. W.B.: Thank you. Bye bye. Waldemar Bastos-2005Interview by Banning Eyre Lisbon, Portugal,2005 Watch for Waldemar Bastos on tour in Summer, 2005.
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