Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Mocambique was perhaps Mozambique’s most prominent music ensemble in the 1980s and 90s. All Music Guide said:
"The group’s style of marrabenta, Mozambique’s urban dance music, featured two lead guitars set to the harmonic strains of a keyboard, a rhythm section that included bass, drums, and hand percussion, and a horn section featuring two trumpets and saxophone."
Nwahulwana (unfinished) (hear), a song which likens a woman to a nightbird, is a deeply prayerful, spiritual piece. It features Wazimbo’s piercing tenor voice and a lone electric guitar picking out a simple accompaniment. This is the voice of a man seeking something that is dear to him but just out of reach. I didn’t realize until doing someonline research that the song has been featured in a Microsoft ad campaign and the harrowing, extraordinary film, The Pledge with Jack Nicholson.
WARNING: This mp3 blog exists to spread the wonder and genius that is traditional music. It does NOT exist to enhance your private mp3 collection. So by all means come, listen, enjoy, then follow the links to buy the music. If you come, listen, download, then leave—you’re violating the spirit behind this blog and doing nothing to support the artists featured here. And if you link to my mp3 file at your own site, then you’re stealing my bandwidth and being pretty uncool. So please don’t do it.
