This mix its part of series I’ve been doing, the first one I launched on my birthday last year, so this one is the second one on the series and it was recorded live at a hip hop festival called “Amor a Camisola”. This mix its all about I’ve been listening to during the times, beats and songs that I listen in small get together with friends, its a great way to test new tunes so I can see how my friends react to the tunes.
How do your mixes/DJ sets differ from your live productions? Does this mix comprise of sounds that inspire your productions?
My mixing or dj sets are quite different from my live shows, it’s all music that I am listening to at the time and I want to share with the crowd. My live shows are more energetic and aggressive, it’s mostly driven by how I feel on the day of the performance. My dj sets are like compilations of artists that inspire me.
What will you be doing in Johannesburg this Saturday? What can we expect to hear at Kitcheners?
In Johannesburg I’ll be performing new material for my new album ‘Likumbi’ that is coming out this year and some new edits I’ve done so far.
At Kitcheners this Saturday the crowd should expect a performance inspired by Makonde initiation rites which is the meaning of my album title ‘Likumbi’, so it’s going to be a very dark and a heavy experience.
This album was actually built on the fear I felt during the time I was initiated at Mueda village when I experienced Likumbi, so this will be the atmosphere of my music during my live performance.
When did you start producing?
I started producing 5 years ago, but I wasn’t sure of the music i was doing. When I was introduced to Ableton then everything changed. I don’t know why but I started to share my music on Soundcloud with odd names and with friends, sometimes on DJ sets at Dolce Vita, which is a pub in Maputo where I had a residency. It was just to see people’s reaction to the music. So I had positive feedback and then started working on my first EP Argolas Deliciosas (available at nandele.bandcamp.com).
What are your influences regarding your music and how would you describe your music?
My music is influenced by my country and everything that has had an impact on my life, whether positive or negative. My Makonde tribe for example was the main influence for my new material. But in terms of artists I am mainly influenced by Pretty Lights, Flying Lotus and Nosaj Thing.
You mentioned you have an upcoming album called ‘Likumbi’. Can you give us a little bit of information on that?
‘Likumbi’ is a very personal album. It’s about the initiations rite I went through when I was 12 years old, and the Mozambican political climate.
Its an album that has a different dynamic to my previous EP. It is more experimental and it draws on all of my musical influences from drum and bass, ambient music, big beat, trip hop, hip hop, trap, heavy metal and tribal chants.
Please tell us about your collaborative work with visual artist Ricardo Pinto Jorge.
Ricardo and I have been working together since his first exposition during a residency I curated for a spot called Arte no Parke. From that point forward we’ve been working together ever since. He is the designer for most of my projects, and at this moment I am creating the music for his upcoming exhibition Bits of Maputo which is going to be launched this year.
What else are up to at the moment?
At this moment I have been working on a project with different artists in the Maputo hip hop scene, working on my project The Mute Band – we’ve done some big festivals this year like Azgo and Bushfire, and at the moment we are working on our Rumble in the Jungle Tour. The Likumbi tour is also coming soon. But I am working actually right now on the Colagem Co! project which is a collaboration between Mozambican artists and South African artists. It’s like a dream come true because through this project I am able to collaborate with Felix Laband who is an artist that I admire very much.
Whats next for Nandele?
I am working on The Mute Band debut album, and the second installment for the Argolas Deliciosas. But I would like to tour in South Africa and the world so I’ll be working very hard to make that happen. I see myself collaborating a lot through the next years, and working on projects like making music for short films and contemporary dance pieces.
Stream/buy Nandele’s Argolas Deliciosas EP over at his bandcamp page, and find out more about the Colagem Co! project over here and here.