Angolan Kuduro in the Context of Sound System Cultures of the Black Atlantic

This chapter introduces the electronic dance music culture kuduro (‘hard arse’) from Angola. It delineates the diasporically intertwined history of kuduro, introduces the main aesthetic strategies and, finally, focusses on the undervalued microphone practices of animação). Based on ethnographic research, the contribution crystallises the insight that kuduro, as a practice that requires deft skills and stamina, is throughout its history intrinsically tied to electronic dance musics around the globe rather than representing the exotic other to Western EDM. This fine-grained analysis of the material leads to the conclusion that kuduro is best understood within the framework of sound system cultures of the Black Atlantic, throwing the specificity of kuduro into sharper relief while also situating it within the larger context of similar practices.