Megan Warrender
These visuals for her 6 music shortlisted track 'Uwa' serves as a tribute to the artist's African roots and are more important than ever reminding us of the spirit of community and fun.
French photographer Lou Escobar’s directorial debut, the vibrant, choreography-led video for ‘Uwa’ was filmed on location in Dakar, Senegal.
Poignantly for Pongo, the shoot marked the first time the Angolan-Portuguese artist had returned to Africa since fleeing Angola with her family as a child, to escape the country’s civil war. ‘Uwa’ itself takes its name from a word in Angola’s traditional language of Kimbundo meaning ‘step’. Used in the games of dodgeball played by children in the streets of Pongo’s Angolan hometown of Luanda, on ‘Uwa’ Pongo interpolates this nostalgia with the pulsating rhythms of the Kuduro genre to infectious effect.
Self-assured, infectious and euphoric with an affirmation of female strength at the forefront of the video, 'Uwa' makes it almost impossible to look away. The ‘Uwa’ EP - also featuring 6Music & 1Xtra-supported single ‘Quem Manda No Mic’ - follows Pongo’s debut EP ‘Baia’, which has been streamed over 6 million times and counting, also spawning remixes from 20syl and Anoraak (the latter issued via Kitsuné). It’s the latest chapter in an again-the-odds trajectory that has seen Lisbon-based Pongo struggle with various personal upheavals.
Pongo featured last month on Mary Anne Hobbs' show on BBC Radio 6 Music, listen to her live performance here. She is definitely one to watch, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for Pongo.