Dilon Djindji has been a musician and performer all his life, but he didn’t release his debut album until the age of 75. He is known as ‘a man of a thousand stories’ and ‘The Grand Old Man of Marrabenta.’
As a twelve-year-old, Djindji built himself a guitar and three years later began performing in public. After school, he became a pastor and during that time he began experimenting with marrabenta music, which became the country’s most dominant dance music.
His legendary early performances are still talked about to this day, and the former ‘heart-throb’ was so closely associated with its popularity he was often called simply Marrabenta. In 1960 Djindji formed his first band and four years later made his radio debut on the Voz Africana station. His first single, ‘Xiguindlana’, was released by the influential Producoes 1001.
Today, he is as enthusiastic about his music as ever. In 2001, at the age of 74, he toured with the multi-generational band Mabulu performing for the first time outside of Mozambique.
Discography:
Dilon (Riverboat Records, 2002)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
