Been to Mozambique lately?  We haven’t either, but we shant be afraid of dropping in headfirst to hear what stirs .  As a former Portuguese colony and current African swinger, the music from Mozambique (Mozic) packs the potential for serious booty-quakin’ groovosity.

The Mozic industry came of age in the slick ’70s, when the country gained independence and were freed from their need to mimic European styles – which the Conjunto Night Stars do very skillfully in this occupation-era relic:

Mozic began borrowing more heavily from the folk styles of neighboring Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia to fashion sonic landscapes they could call their own.  Marrabenta dance music was born:

And then there’s Timbila, an ancient style of music played by an orchestra  of 5 to 30 wooden xylophones (called mbilas), and considered (composition-ally speaking) to be the most intricate sounds found among preliterate people:

The straight facts:

Maybe it’s just me, but this man’s wild performance generates more chills than a stadium-explosion guitar solo ever could:

This and many more far flung sonic sculptures on this week’s program, including subtle shades of Breggae and Japa-Jazz.