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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.
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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).