Explore Kizomba on Josplay Music Kizomba is a sensuous, appealing music genre with synthesized guitar arpeggios and a strong bassline. The sensuality of the sound is inextricably associated with the dance, in which couples move to a sensuous, languid, passionate rhythm.
Kizomba is a popular style of Angolan dance and music that emerged in the early 1990s and has become known for its sensual flow and mix of African and Latin rhythms. Although the dance has existed since the 1980s, it wasn’t until Eduardo Paim that the genre emerged as a slowed version of semba and zouk songs.
Influenced By: Semba
Talking about the genre’s origin, Eduardo Paim who is considered the creator of Kizomba says “This is a process that started around 1981, with groups whose names were Afro Sond Star and soon after SOS. This movement that we just created and that started with Afro Sond Star – I myself was inspired by this group that already assumed kilapanda as a reference style, but in the mix there were things that excited me, and together a bit the latest references that I was able to grasp from semba, from our merengue and with that bond that we ended up making with Latin America, these references ended up giving me the conditions to, unintentionally, develop a sound that, let's face it, fell in people's hearts. And so Angolan music is once again part of the life of Angolans.”
"A few enthusiasts say people do not dance Kizomba, they do the Semba steps in non-semba music like Kizomba." Kizomba dance reached greater heights when the war ended and the youth took it as an important expression art. The first national kizomba championship organized in 2009 was won by Dilson Rosario, and this gave him a chance to come to Europe, bringing the spectacular Kizomba dance to the Europeans in its most raw form.
The 2000s saw the genre take on a more modern approach influenced by R&B, and marked by a much more slower tempo and electronic instrumentation.
Kizomba music evolved from a synthesis of Semba, Angolan Merengue, Kilapanga, and other Angolan music influences: It slowed down the tempo of songs and added a heavier bass line to the instrument arrangement. Eduardo Paim is often regarded as the "father/creator of Kizomba music," since he and his band had a significant impact in the evolution of the music style.
Kizomba is usually slow to mid tempo with light instrumentation.
Kizomba usually has a 4 on 4 kick with light drums and membrane percussion. The 4 on 4 kick is accompanied by a 4:2 snare drum or rimshot rhythm . A conga or any other membrane drum comes between the second and third beat.