We don’t invite artists back two years in a row that often, but this time we didn’t hesitate: More people deserve to see Pongo.
By definition, it is difficult to pinpoint what we mean by x factor, but we know it when we see it. The concert by Pongo at Blå during last year’s Oslo World was a clear example - the audience got to meet, and dance with, an artist making a rapid rise in international club music. An exhilarating, sweaty concert experience, all too rare these last years.
Pongo has already established herself as one of the foremost voices of the angolan club genre kuduro, a transatlantic hybrid of hip hop, house, zouk and soko. She was only 15 years old when she made her record debut as a singer on the monster hit “Kalemba (Wegue Wegue)”, with the group Buraka Som Sistema. The song has been played in clubs all over the world ever since.
After the success with Buraka Som Sistema, Pongo pursued her solo career. Around the same time, the music scene in Lisbon went through a rapid transformation - it became dominated by music from the Portuguese speaking parts of Africa. The city contains a mix of different postcolonial nationalities, and music from Angola, Guinea, Cape Verde and Mozambique. Today, this identity shapes the music scene in a way which seems unthinkable just a few years ago. Pongo imbues her songs with music from her childhood in Angola, mixed with langa, zaïco, EDM, dancehall and tribal pop.
Her album debut came in 2019, with the critically acclaimed Baia. In 2020, she released the EP UWA. The banger “Bruxos” from 2021 was one of the highlights during last year's concert at Oslo World, while her 2022 single “Doudou” offers lush melodies, hinting at new avenues for her to explore. We don’t invite artists back two years in a row that often, but this time we didn’t hesitate: More people deserve to see her. We are happy to present Pongo, not only at Parkteatret in Oslo, but on stages in Tromsø, Bergen and Molde, as part of the Movement Network. It is going to get hot in Norway this November.
The Movement Tour
3. november: Tromsø World
4. november: Bergen internasjonale musikkfestival
5. november: Molde Mundo
