Angola Soundtrack is a two-volume compilation album series released by German record label Analog Africa.
The albums compile music recorded between 1968 and 1978 in Angola, a period bridging the second half of the Angolan War of Independence and the beginnings of the Angolan Civil War, and which roughly coincides with the "golden age" of Angolan music.[1]: xxv
The first volume (2010) is focused on Angolan popular music of the 1960s and 70s, which drew from traditional styles including rebita, kazukuta, and semba, as well as Latin and Congolese influences.[2]
The second volume (2013) compiles more experimental music from the same period.
Background
In 1968, Angola was a colony of Portugal.
Guerrilla groups had been fighting the Angolan War of Independence (one part of the Portuguese Colonial War) since 1961, and the war lasted until 1974.
Under Portuguese rule, Angolan bands were banned from performing at carnivals, but a parallel live scene developed.[3]
In November 1975 Angola declared its independence.[4]
Immediately after independence the Angolan Civil War began, which was to last 27 years.
The war created dangerous conditions for musicians; David Zé and Urbano de Castro [d], who feature on Angola Soundtrack, were murdered in 1977 as part of the backlash to a failed coup attempt.[1]: 174
Angolan music has been influenced by its colonial history, and bears similarities to the music of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.[2]
The strong musical culture of Angola's neighbour Zaïre also influenced its music, in particular in the use of complex guitar rhythms similar to those of Congolese rumba.[2][5]
In the 1960s the bass guitar was rarely used in Angolan music, and songs were driven by the lead guitar rhythm.[4]
Latin music, particularly Cuban, also influenced Angolan music post-independence.[6]
Volume 1 – The Unique Sound Of Luanda 1968–1976
Angola Soundtrack – The Unique Sound Of Luanda 1968–1976
The first volume of Angola Soundtrack was inspired by a series of albums released by French record label Buda Musique in 1999–2000 that compiled Angolan music from the 1960s and 70s, and features some of the same artists.[2]Analog Africa owner Samy Ben Redjeb spent several years collecting Angolan records, and chose the tracklist from a pool of hundreds.[7]Angola Soundtrack was released on CD and LP on 22 November 2010.[8]
Janne Oinonen of The Line of Best Fit called the first volume of Angola Soundtrack "essential listening...proving once again that behind the simplistic media portrayal of Africa as a continent of war, misery and poverty lies much richer, vibrant and multi-faceted reality," and identified Os Bongos' tracks as a highlight.[10]
In The Wire, Julian Cowley described the album as having "no monumental standout tracks, but music with momentum and direction that carries you with it."[8]PopMatters wrote "one of the best things I can say about Angola Soundtrack is that it lives up to the rest of the Analog Africa discography."[5]
The second volume of Angola Soundtrack is again focused on guitar-driven popular music, but with a more experimental sound.[11]
It was released on 2 December 2013.
An article in the Yearbook for Traditional Music described Angola Soundtrack 2 as "a glorious example of minor, mid-tempo guitar workouts that are as danceable as they are melancholic."[12]Record Collector said "that such a wealth of musical riches should have been produced at a time of such instability is nothing short of miraculous."[3]
