If it’s one thing that we all know and understands, music is a universal language. There are songs and albums we sing that resonate with us, regardless of the language. Eparaka (which translates as a blessing or blessed in Macua language) is the debut album by Deltino Guerreiro that will most likely be listed as one of those favourable pieces you will hold in high regard.
Let me give you a little background on Deltino. Guerreiro was born in 1990 and raised in Montepuez, Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. In 2002, Deltino began singing in hip-hop and R&B groups. At 20 years old, he enrolled in the music course at the House of Culture of Nampula, learning guitar. A year later Deltino embarked on a journey to Maputo for a degree in Economics and to also try his luck as a musician in the Mozambican capital. A talent contest came his way via a Mozambican TV station in 2011, which Deltino won. He then continued to study music at Crossroads Music Academy in 2013. A year later, production started on his debut album Eparaka that will be released in the UK on April 8th from Kongoloti Records. His melodies reflect the strong influence of Arabic music in the north, sometimes compared to the mandinga melodies of countries like Mali, Gambia or Burkina Faso.
Eparaka has a fine balance of ballads, mid and up-tempo tracks. The instrumentation on the entire album is beyond amazing. Drum rolls, djembes, pianos, guitars – name it, they all pack a solid punch. Where I would love to have a translator decipher the songs for me, I think it may actually take away from the magic of it all. Deltino sings passionately and beautifully.