When on March 1st Assa Matusse took the stage, she was just a simple girl from the neighborhood, but by the end of the concert, with a sold-out crowd – 1500 people – and the audience standing, in a frenzy, a woman, an artist of the world, was born. This concert at the Mozambique-China Cultural Center was a moment of gratitude, but it proved to be a true homage to those who courageously and irreverently paved the difficult paths of music, true art of music, it must be said, as if the chorus of voices from the audience were responding to the possible uncertainties and fears of those who came from the alleys: thank you for the music! After all, good art one day avenges, conquers, and finds its place in times when everything is ephemeral and volatile.
After March 1st, all questions began to have answers, as if everything had started there. Even in the album +Eu, Assa announced which paths she intended to walk, already having charted the most distant, steep trail, with woods and unpredictable storms. She chose to go far, respecting the tradition of quality of Mozambican music – the confession of having António Marcos as her reference says a lot about her knowledge of this tradition. In Assa, one sees the horizon, other names are projected, the best versions of the ladies and gentlemen of true music art, the transformation of genres, the globalization of what is local and almost ritualistic. The pioneers can sleep peacefully; in Assa, the inheritance has been valued.
This interview was conducted before the concert we mentioned, perhaps so that we wouldn't be influenced by the narrative of immediate success. Here, therefore, we are concerned with knowing about the work behind the success. From the rise of the star that Assa Matusse is today, what she leaves behind and what she takes with her at this stage of her career, and what will be definitive: the desire to be and do better and better, here, in France, or wherever her music reaches.
The album "Mutchangana" (2023), due to the impact it generated, can it be considered your consecration?
I would say yes, but it's also important to respect my first baby, which was "+Eu" (2016). But I think yes, this album here is a consecration because I already come with an identity that I was really looking for when I made the first album. I am very happy with the impact it has had and with all the reception it is having, especially from the young people, whom I wanted to reach. Those of us who make this type of music are sometimes associated with a certain type of audience, and I wanted to break this barrier, and this time, I think I succeeded.
And what was different about this work?
Well, I think the work itself already brings a complexity in relation to producers and where it was done. It was started in Mozambique and finished in France. As I am now living there, there is also this curiosity to know what this album really has that is special. The difference is really in production issues, identity issues. I went in search of things that we didn't have in Mozambique, but I left with a base because it was important to record my origins in this album. I couldn't trust this to others, to people who are not from the same culture as me, but I really wanted to make this mixture. How great that it worked out.
The themes refer to women and the established social patterns that limit some freedoms and rights, is this the society you mirror yourself in?
In this society, I would say, because it is the society where I grew up, I am from here, so even when we write or make lyrics, sometimes I turn to feminism because we always have these issues of having to always bow down. As women, we are capable. Society is the one that has often dictated how humans should be, unfortunately, it is not possible to grow up and live in isolation, even if everyone is in their own home, there is always the world outside. The world and society are what have inspired me. I often say that the album was finished in France, but it was made and designed for Mozambicans. Not only for the machanganas, so to speak, but also for the ndaus and macuas, all the people of different ethnicities that we have in Mozambique who have often been oppressed and could not express themselves in their own language.
Being based in France contributes to the aesthetics of Assa's work and performance on this album?
It demanded a little more from me, it's true. It contributes a lot to the aesthetics and how I will present myself. Also, when we are abroad, we think about our country, we are careful with everything we say because we know that we represent a whole country. All of this also begins to stand out for what I have always wanted to be as an artist. I have gained a lot of experience on how to be and how to act, but I have always been like this, only the fact of having more knowledge changes, and therefore, being able to use all the potential more intelligently regarding music on stage.
By the way, what took you to France?
I have a great love for languages and literature. I find that very fascinating. I have always looked at languages as a way to express art; I see languages as an art, actually. French was one of the languages I wanted to speak; I wanted, above all, to be able to be in a metropolis like Paris, where there is a lot of diversity, many artists, and therefore it is really necessary to have some interesting work to show. So I wanted to challenge myself. I chose France because of the language; I also wanted to learn a new language. Whenever I go out of Mozambique to a country, I try to learn the language. On the other hand, the fact that the market is totally different influenced me. This change was opportune for my work, due to the conditions that exist there. The language only came to add to this desire of mine to be there, especially because it is a country in southern Europe that is not so far from Portugal where we have our language, where Portuguese is spoken, where I can move around and benefit as an artist.
Is this the path to a leap in your career and bigger opportunities?
Yes, there are more opportunities abroad. In fact, we wouldn't leave if our home treated us so well or if there were all the conditions. We wouldn't leave, I believe no one wants to leave their country. We only leave to really seek better conditions, and I saw in France, perhaps a country where I could develop much more and have many more opportunities as a singer, as an artist, so I chose to go there. This is one of the ways I saw to internationalize my career and be present in other music scenes in the world.
How was the adaptation and the process of integration into the French cultural scene?
The experience is both positive and negative. For someone coming from the Mozambican market, the way we deal with the music business is extremely different. In fact, there is no real "music business" here in Mozambique. The industry is still very weak, to the point that we don't have record labels.
In another country, what did you perceive about the Mozambican music industry?
What Mozambicans themselves can already perceive without leaving. We have a lot of weaknesses in terms of culture. I'll talk about my part, which is music. I think there is still a lot of work to be done, especially with the Mozambican people themselves. I am starting to feel that there is a curiosity about who Assa is now that I am in France. I find that very sad. Leaving here [Mozambique], people start to show a little more interest. But Assa has been around for a long time, Assa has been making music for a long time... I am starting to worry about the musicians who are here. The idea is not for everyone to leave; it is necessary for people to stay, it is necessary for people not to think that they have to leave in order to be valued in their own country or to start to gain some notoriety in the country.
What has been your artistic routine like?
What happens is that when we leave one country for another, we carry the flag, we want to make our country known, and we start to receive demands from Mozambique as well, for those of us who are there. I tried to be present at some events, some festivals, and to make my presence felt not only as an individual, but also as a representative of Mozambique. Some people say to this day that they don't know the country, maybe not even a Mozambican in France, and that's what I hear every day. That's why I insist, this time, where I'm going to perform a concert, here in Maputo, I insisted on bringing part of the French band with me so that they can get to know Mozambique a little better.
