Pongo in The 8 Playlist: songs of saudade and Pan-African uprising
As of this year, she’s started the pursuit of her solo career. We got in touch with her to know her trajectory and inspiration a little better.
“Saudade” is probably the best meme of the Portuguese-speaking countries since Port wine, Fado music, Clarice Lispector, Fernando Pessoa and Tropicália. It is a cool word designating a special bittersweetness of longing for love, places and people in the middle ground between plain sadness and joy, and its phonetics are a delight to the ear.
Quite unluckily, it has become a bit overused, but we can’t avoid the temptation to use it when referring to Pongo ’s work. On her sources of inspiration, she commented:
“My inspiration comes from deep memories of my childhood and experiences in my neighbourhood in Luanda, Angola, in the midst of my large family, neighbours and friends. These memories are all-encompassing, with lots of fun but also sadness… “
It is that feeling which transcends the dyads of ambivalence, making for a complicate beauty. This isn’t just a choice of subject-matter, but a heavy, heartfelt emotion, elevating her days on her motherland to a immaculate, dream-like beauty:
“What I miss about my childhood in my neighbourhood (Cuca) is the pure innocence of children. Really, I miss everything about those times during which everything around me was beautiful.”
This longing and constant search of memory is a theme featured in her latest two released tracks. Tambulaya, which was released a couple of months ago, presented the singer’s re-imagining of her country’s history of war and social struggle: of a turmoil almost impossible to grasp that may only be stitched in place and become legible thanks to the bonds of those who lived through the times, in this case, her grandfather and grandmother, who danced, kissed, fell in love and continued living, creating meaning and warmth when the country seemed bereft of it.
As of last June she released a video for “Kuzola”, remaining in the balance between devotion and loss:
“«Kuzola» is an expression from Kimbundu, a traditional Angolan language, which means to LOVE truly.“
“In this song, I describe a woman who is suffering from having been unfairly abandoned. Please let me point out that this is not a personal experience, but that no one is exempt from suffering in that exact same way”
“… very early on, I left school and headed directly to the stage. From that moment onwards, everything around me changed: I became well-known across the globe and it took me a while to understand what that all meant – I was only fifteen.”
Departing from her formerly known persona as Buraka Som Sistema’s collaborator and feature singer Pongolove, with a tiny elision, but the love’s still there:
“I needed artistic freedom to express myself. I have grown and become more mature, and I feel more in touch with myself and become the genuine PONGO for both the audience and all the professionals who now work with me!”
However deep this transformation goes, it could only be a possible as a result of a lifetime working in the musical medium and the relations that emerged and prospered within it. Pongo remembers how she came to meet the people who are now working with her as creative direction and production:
“My phonography teacher, (producer) Frederic Doll, from Capitaine Plouf, gave me the opportunity to meet these great and incredible artistic directors, Raphael d’Hervez (arranging musician and performer), Florent Livet (mixdown engineer) and Pavle Kovasevic. Raphael immediately felt musical connection with this EP. At a distance and without knowing each other, we shared the same language. Like a flash, he met my expectations for each EP single. I hope to be able to collaborate with these directors in future again.”
Nevertheless, these great work relations bring us back to the effort that she’s put forth in relating to the musical medium and growing in it. A task that required a great commitment as the music industry is still eminently masculine and quite competitive, even at a safe distance from the mainstream that African and Portuguese-speaking music allows. On her rising up against these social tensions, she remarks:
“In my opinion, being a woman is difficult, including in Angola. Gender inequality is ridiculous and unacceptable, and just like in other parts of the world, it is difficult to succeed in Angolan music.”
“My message to other female artists is never to stop dreaming. All humans have the right to dream, and Angolan women are the same as any other. So dream on and fight for your dreams, for the mental freedom that will open the floodgates to infinite possibilities!”
Here at WIDE we’re right enthused about her upcoming work, wishing that she’ll continue to grow and produce more of her excellent material. In the meantime, we’re glad to present you with a tiny collection of songs which she’s kept near her heart, resonating through her work:
