A Soundtrack of Angola’s War

The perkiest song on Guerrilla, the debut album by the Angolan artist Nazar, is an ode to deadly military technology. Growing up in the aftermath of civil war, his father a controversial former general, the producer has channelled his shocking experiences into a vital electronic album. Guerrilla is populated by many voices: his family; Nazar himself, pitched up to sound feminine; and the Hyperdub DJ Shannen SP, who adds a sullen rap to Bunker, a track about the bloody aftermath of Angola’s 1992 elections. On Diverted, Nazar’s father, Alcides Sakala Simões, reads from his war memoir, describing a tactical decision that could have cost him his life. “He knew he could die, but he accepted it without hesitation.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN