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Article | Between War, Politics, and 'Something Nice Back Home': Uncovering the First Mozambican Experiences within the World Music Market (1987–1994)
Marco Roque de Freitas, integrated researcher at Instituto de Etnomusicologia - Centro de Estudos em Música e Dança (INET-md), has published the article "Between War, Politics, and 'Something Nice Back Home': Uncovering the First Mozambican Experiences within the World Music Market (1987–1994)" in the Yearbook for Traditional Music. The same article was published in Portuguese, under the title "Entre guerra, política e 'uma visão positiva lá de casa': Descortinando as primeiras experiências moçambicanas na senda da World Music (1987-1994)".
This marks the first bilingual PT-EN article published in this journal since its foundation in 1949. The article will be included in the thematic issue (53/2) edited by Susana Sardo, Kati Szego and Ana Flávia Miguel, dedicated to the Congress of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM), which took place in Lisbon in July 2022.
Abstract:
This article analyzes the internationalization of Mozambican music within the “World Music” market during the country’s transitional period from a single-party socialist-led system to a multiparty, liberal one (1987–1994) in relation to the country’s nation-building process. The comparative examination of three cases — Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Mo ç ambique, the song “Baila Maria” by GrupoRM (Amoya), and Real World Records’ albums by Eyuphuro and Ghorwane — shows that the “World Music” market not only served as an escape valve from the country’s lethargic phonographic industry but also emerged as a privileged channel to promote Mozambique’s official musical policy abroad during a crucial civil war-torn period.
The author dedicates this article to the memory of the musician and composer Chico António (1958-2024).
