Jupiter Child and Calú Carlos – Mozambican Electronic Night

Preview by Laura Juncker

Jupiter Child, based in Copenhagen, and Calú Carlos, based in Oslo, are Afro-Scandinavian performers and celebrators of the Mozambican sound universes from which they both originate. As their African heritages guide, inspire, and permeate their respective works within the arts and music, February 8^th will be the first night they perform together in collaboration at Mozambican Electro Night at Råhuset.

Jupiter, a performance artist and storyteller, recently starred the one-person show ‘Julia and 500 years of Freedom’ at Warehouse 9 last fall. With its immersive play on sounds, senses and stories, backed by free-jazz drumming by Michala Østergaard-Nielsen, the audience were boarded as passengers on a personal journey through time with Jupiter as the pilot.

As an exploration of identity and sense of belonging, it landed the audience all the way back in colonial times in Mozambique and flicked forward through historical chapters of independence and civil war, as well as sections of Jupiter’s own life; childhood, coming of age, and lastly, the move from familiar Mozambique to a dreamy and confusing Denmark.

Jupiter’s ability to captivate and engulf you with her voice and words is a breath of fresh air in the Copenhagen performance scene and a welcome broadening of Denmark’s cultural horizons. While on this occasion, she takes the stage as a musician more than as a performance artist, this ability undoubtedly makes for a night well spent in her company on February 8^th. As Jupiter says; “it can be hard to split singing and playing, and I am going to allow the experience to manifest and inspire”.

Calú, on the other hand, is a musician to the bone. As percussionist, songwriter and vocalist, he has released three albums in the Afro-Scandinavian jazz fusion quartet Monoswezi, and is releasing music as solo artist as well. The sound of his productions is characterised by pitched-down crisp percussion, often soothingly coated with the watery harp-like chants of the Mbira and soft harmonic vocals. His work draws especially from West and Southern African traditions, but also takes playful spin-offs into genres like hip-hop, folk and even occasional outliers like drum’n’bass.

At the moment, Calú is working on a solo album and describes his current musical process as “a print-out of daily life with a focus on social, cultural and spiritual awakening”. With his mastery of assembling instruments from scattered universes and making them sound like they never were meant for anything else, Calú seems the perfect accomplice for what Jupiter Child refers to as her ‘civic duty’ to contribute to cultural diversity and representation in Denmark. Expect a jazzy electronic night that will make your body move and a deep plunge into Mozambican rhythms, sounds and feels.

Info: Vinter Jazz 2019: Calu Carlos & Jupiter Child will take place at Råhuset on Friday February 8th.