Teatro Español y Naves del Español

Mû Mbana

Africa moment - MÛ MBANA - 0 ©Joan Tomás
Date
November 28, 2021
Price
20€
Time
7pm
Duration
90 minutos

Mû Mbana is a composer and performer of multiple string instruments. A native of the island of Bolama, in Guinea-Bissau, he grew up influenced by the religious songs sung by the women of the  Brame (Mancanha) and Bijagos (Bidjugu) ethnic groups.

Multinstrumentalist, composer and poet, the maturity of his music and the instruments that accompany himt are like a material reflection of his soul as musician and artist. His vast and eclectic career includes 10 albums released and numerous performances on stages in Europe, Africa and America. He has collaborated with many musicians and projects such as Selva de Mar, La Locomotora Negra, the great Manu Dibango, Simão Felix, Rosa Zaragoza, Lula Pena, Jurandir Santana and Fabiana Cozza. Currently, based between Bissáu and Barcelona, he combines his solo work with parallel projects such as Nua Trío, together with double bass player Javier Colina and Jesús Mañeru, Mû & Sasha with Israeli cellist Sasha Agranov, “Mornas Ku Nghuni Nghunidúras” in honor of Guinean authors and the big band Colectivo BDB.

Mû’s music cannot be explained in words. Saying that he recorded fusion, jazz, traditional music, electronic or spoken word records says little about his music. The life of Mû has been an endless web of cultural intersections. However, his music shows a clear center. And it was in search of that center that we decided to face the recording of this album. A record where Mû was merely Mû. A voice, a breeze, an essence. A single soul before the universe which in turn is another universe. A universe with its own time, a time that the listener must respect if s/he wants to find something really new and vital that lasts. The music of Mû is made of moments and alignments of moments. Made of modal plains and mountainous harmonic constructions. Of magnanimity and vindication. Of tremulous murmurs and warrior cries. Of intimacy, extroversion, shyness, dance, melancholy and celebration. Mû's music is not to be explained. It’s to be listened to. It is to be noted. To be lived.