MOÇAMBIQUE MUSICOS - STEWART SUKUMA

Biografia

Stewart Sukuma, originally named Luis Pereira, was born in a small town in the interior of Mozambique and grew up with his four sisters in Quelimane, capital of the Mozambican province of Zambeze, where the family lived on the modest wages that his father earned as a truck driver. His first toy guitar he received at a Christmas party for disadvantaged children, and little did he realize that this would be his launching pad to a seriouscareer as a musician. Mozambique was granted independence from Portugal in 1975. "It was only six months before independence that one fully understood what was going on and wanted to be part of it", says Sukuma today. It was the period subsequent to the 25th of April 1974, the Portuguese Carnation Revolution, that drew a whole generation into a whirl of new events and changes - in Portugal, in England and particularly in the African colonies, where a struggle for national and cultural independence had been going on for decades. "After independence, there was a cultural revolution and I used to dance for the bands that mushroomed. But I didn't want to be a dancer..." When the death of his eldest sister, who had left two children and a house in Maputo behind her, drove him to the capital of Mozambique, in 1977, he learned how to play percussion, the guitar and keyboard and started singing in a band in 1982. In 1983 he recorded his first production for Radio Mozambique. At the blink of an eye he won the "Ngoma" prize as best up-and-coming musician, and within a short space of time became Mozambique's most popular musician. His productions have been played on radio, recorded on tapes and then distributed for sale by the radio stations. In a country shattered by civil war, the production of long-play records or CDs was simply not feasible. The attempt to secure a contract in Lisbon, where most musicians from former colonies were still doing their production work, was sadly in vain. In 1995 Stewart, who meanwhile had become the most highly conferred musician in his his country and celebrated as the "Star of the People", went with a demo-tape to neighboring South Africa. This step to take was somewhat unusual and a few years previously would have been totally unthinkable, because the Apartheid regime was still being embargoed and South Africa still diligently sought to further fan the flames of the Mozambiquean civil war after the end of the Cold War conflict. For the masses of destitute immigrant workers, who were illegally trying to eke out an existence, the passage into the "Land of the Rand" represented both umiliation and a last hope of survival. The new state of affairs after the peace agreementin Mozambique and the accession to power by the black majority in South Africa opened up new cultural perspectives. With an international team of professionals in a Johannesburg recording studio, Afrikiti was recorded - after more than 15 years of a music career, Stewart released his first album. Stewart Sukuma (a word that in Zulu more or less means "Rise Up" and "Push" in Swahili) was enthusiastically celebrated as the new star African music and in Mozambique won once again the Ngoma prize. Although only a small minority of people could even afford to buy his CD, the release of Afrikiti in his own country was nevertheless treated in the same manner as state occasion:

The president, Joaquim Chiziano attended along with other prominent figures from around the country and the international music press. The "Star of the People" has become the country's cultural mascot and a symbol of postwar reconstruction, which he is actively engaged in: A proportion of the proceeds from his CD goes to an environmental organization and he himself is actively involved in AIDS-Relief programs. As producer and promoter Sukuma supports young musicians in his country and thus personifies a new generation in Mozambiquean music. Ghorwane and Eyuphuro, the few internationally esteemed groups in his country, and the Marrabenta Stars, with whom Sukuma has toured around the world - among others at the "Beat Apartheid!" festival in Berlin-, and on whose first album he appears as a percussionist, are the regional forsterers of genuine Mozambiquean music. Sukuma has also appeared on stage with Mark Knopfler, Youssou N'dour, Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte. Even if some purist critics in Mozambique have gone a bit too far, Afrikiti did, however, represent a very visible break-away from the light entertainment style of Marrabenta, or from that of the Soukous, which is prevalent in the whole of southern Africa. His new more subtle style proceeds in a completely changed direction, which has "an unmistakable Mozambiquean stamp and yet is open to the world". "Our music is deeply rooted in the rhythms of our people, because we have largely been cut off from the world for various reasons, including the past war", but nowadays other sounds have manifested themselves in the Mozambiquen music scene: Reggae, rock, Brazilian music, jazz and all kinds of other sounds from international pop music... which for Sukuma in turn have a common root: "The Brazilians get their music from Africans and all these other countries such as the USA and the Europeans copy their music from us." Afrikiti represents a Pan African understanding for music that emanates both self confidence and modernism. Seven languages can be heard on his CD: alongside the idioms of the colonists, English and Portuguese, one finds Koti, Chuabo, Swahili, Zulu and Tsonga. And every piece transmits a distinctly progressive and ambitiously energetic message. Whether it be in "Muliba", where he sings in Chuabo, Zulu and English of solidarity and the peaceful coexistence of mankind (incidentally with Hugh Masakela on the flugelhorn), or in "Afrikiti", which tries to win support for a new African, or in "Mocambique", which brings expression to the hope for the beginning of a better life after such difficult times, or in "Katamaga", that sings of the hope for an Africa, that would give being a continent of beggars and try to discover its own strengths and self-determination. "Watcha" illustrates this aspiration with wonderful imagination in the story of a slave who one day stood up and threw off his chains, even though everyone took him for a dreamer, and eventually became even more powerful than the king. Other songs give an account of "real" life, like "Workers", which finds its inspiration in the fate of a neighbor who out of desperation became a prostitute, or "Ceramica Negra", which is about the ceramic artist Reinata Sadimba and "Life goes on", which is dedicated to a friend and where the Portuguese text says: "In order to make a better place of the world/ Give from your heart the best of your love/ The power of life is stronger than whatever you imagine/ Makes of the world a better place." "Nakupenda Sana" is ultimately Sukuma's musical profession of deference in the form of a posthumous hymn to the stars of the African music scene: "Everyday we remember/ Your dedication/ For the music of the world/ You will be with us forever",and in the Portuguese verses he sings: "One day a message of love/ Will ring out loudly/ In our music/ That will last for eternity." Liner notes by Michael Kegler

1983 Won Award for Best Performer for national contest in Mozambique 1987 Recorded the album Independance with Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Mozambique in Harare, Zimbabwe Performed at various benefit concerts in Norway, Denmark (Roskilde), Sweden, Holland (Melkveg) Toured 16 cities in Germany for the Beat Apartheid Festival with Stella Chiweshe the Mbira Lady of Zimbabwe, Mustapha 3 Mustapha and Kalahari Surfers Performed at Maison de Culture du Monde in Paris with Bembeya Jazz Worked as percussionist for George Lee a renown saxophone player from Ghana based in South Africa 1988 Performed with Orchestra Marrabenta at the Children of the Frontline Festival in Harare Zimbabwe with Harry Belafonte, Hugh Masekela, Youssou N'dour and Miriam Makeba 1989 Assistant Producer for the Eric Clapton Concert in Maputo, Mozambique Sukuma and Orchestra Marrabenta opens for Mark Knopfler and Bundu Boys at Hackney Empire in London and Newcastle 1990 Produced Tananas concert in Maputo, Mozambique Toured Finland 1991 Production Coordinator for the Awarded Best Video of the Year Island Boy by Mango Groove 1993 Special Guest at the Miss Mozambique Beauty Contest Won Press Prize at the National Contest Ngoma, Mozambique 1994 Soundtrack Production Coordinator for the Tree of the Forefathers a video documentary for the BBC television 1995 Won Award for Most Popular Song in national contest Ngoma, Mozambique Owner and producer of an advertising company in Mozambique providing services in music and video publicity for social projects Managed publicity of an AIDS-prevention campaign for an American company based in Mozambique PSI - Population Services International 1996/97 Recorded and released his first CD Afrikiti in Mozambique, South Africa and Europe, featuring Hugh Masekela on flugelhorn, Jimmy Dludlu on guitar and George Lee, saxophones 1998 Sukuma comes to The United States to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston MA and to bring his music to the West 1999 Performed at the Houston International Festival in Texas Discografia A editar