Afro Pupo is an artist and Tv host considered a prodigy on house music scene and part the first generation of electronic music in Angola.
Can you tell us a bit about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music?
R: Hello guys. I’m Afro Pupo from Luanda, Angola. My father was a DJ, so I grew up close to a wide musical library that varied between African and pop music. As a child, my father taught me how to use the equipment we had at home, and I improvised other instruments with my mouth and hands, as if I were adding my personal taste to what I was listening to. But I only had access to music production when I was 10 years old because my cousin brought me a floppy disc with games and programmes; one of them was Fruity Loops 3. It was love at first sight! I started making “mashups” of the songs I liked, and I haven’t stopped since.
Does your training come from the Internet?
R: The internet came later. In 2002, I still didn’t have access. I used an English dictionary to translate the Fruity Loops 3 instructions. I literally copied the musical construction of other songs. I imitated the chords of songs by ear and discovered the scales playing on the keyboard. I didn’t have MIDI equipment at the time. When I had access to the internet, I learned more technical things like “mixing” and how to organise plugins to get a better result.
Who have been your main inspirations (both musically and in «life»)? And how have they affected your sound?
R: My father is undoubtedly the main one. He has always been my biggest inspiration in life. He always motivated me to dream and believe that I just needed to discover the sound that syncs with the beat of my heart. When I heard the music of Louie Vega, Manoo, and Boddhi Satva on the Mix FM Angola radio show, I gained new influences.
They produced music that seemed very similar to me, or with direct influences from the music I was listening to at the time. Especially Boddhi Satva, which inspired me to search for my own sound. The bold rhythm, with a strong native African influence, hypnotises me to this day. Currently, Black Coffee, Keinemusik, Pablo Fierro, Manoo, and Djeff have a sound that I really identify with.
How would you define your sound? And how has your sound evolved so far?
R: Due to my African roots, my sound has always been very strong and traditional. My father had parties at home with my family, and they danced a lot. This made my sound at the beginning very tropical and more happy. Over time, I evolved musically and produced a more tech-oriented Afro-house style with a focus on peaktime dancefloors, although there are always soulful elements in the mix.
What can you tell us about your last job? What inspired you? What do you want to transmit?
R: My next work is a partnership with Leandro Silva; “African Kings” will be released soon. Firstly, Leandro Silva is like a legend in the house music movement in Angola, and by the time I started playing professionally, he had that superstar status to follow. He has a lot of experience in dance music. We’ve had the opportunity to work before, but we weren’t aligned enough. So, 14 years later, the opportunity appeared through a group on social media, and we decided to work. He sent me a progressive house demo to add my afro feeling. I confess that I made the song out of fear of exaggerating the musical construction, but when I sent my version, he added three more tech instruments that blew my mind!!! The music became very out-of-the-box afro-house with the influence of two different producers. If I had to classify it, it would be progressive afro-trance tech!!! I can’t believe this exists, lol. Now that I listen to the music, I feel that these fusions of traditional and modern are the future.
And that’s where we’re headed.
What projects are you working on right now?
R: I’ll be making my debut in Ibiza in September, so lately I’ve been spending more time in the studio to have as much original music to present as possible. I feel inspired, and nothing will stop me.
In addition, I manage my label, AFROCRACIA Records, which continues to grow and focuses on quality releases and includes very talented producers such as Xtremo Soul, SonyUritz, Bertelim, Castro Victor, Dion Txumo, Eduarsoul, GildoKrasty, and Micíades.
In addition to them, veterans Nelasta Nel Flow, singer Andyboi and Silyvi contribute to making the world dance with us.
LINKS:
https://pt.ra.co/dj/afropupo
https://www.facebook.com/afropupo/
https://www.beatport.com/artist/afro-pupo/561966/releases
