Nazar is an Manchester-based

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n electronic musician. He is known for his distinct mixture of the Angolan genre

kuduro Kuduro (or kuduru) is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk bé ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

. His stage name is derived from the

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

song "

Waters of Nazareth "Waters of Nazareth" is a song by French electronic music duo Justice. It was released as their debut single on 14 September 2005. It was released as a 12" and CD single with the original three songs. A 12" with remixes by DJ Funk, Erol Alkan, an ...

Early life

Nazar was born in Belgium in 1993. He is the son of Alcides Sakala Simões, a former general of the

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

. Nazar lived in suburban

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

until the age of 14. Growing up the threat of street gangs were a constant. Also in his childhood was a failed kidnapping attempt on his sister. At age 7 Nazar watched a news broadcast wrongly stating that his father had died. By 2002, after the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, Nazar visited

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

; eventually taking permanent residence in 2007 in the city of

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

. From the age of 14 Nazar and his family would go on annual pilgrimages to the rural town of Bailundo, the birthplace of his father.

Career

A self-described "alien with no friends", Nazar found himself dealing with depression and in turn found solace in music. By 2007, inspired by the music of

, Daft Punk and Burial alongside a desire to impress his classmates, Nazar started to produce music, initially making beats on his father's laptop with a

pirated Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

copy of FL studio. Expanding on the

sound with what he dubs "rough kuduro", Nazar "blends uptempo kuduro beats with aggressive, militaristic sound design and lyrics reflecting on the violence and disorder of the Angolan civil war." In 2018, Nazar released his debut EP ''Enclave'' on

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have ...

records. In 2019, Nazar was part of Hyperdub's 15th anniversary show at London’s Village. In 2020, he released his album, ''Guerrilla''.

Discography

Extended plays

* ''Enclave'' (2018)

Albums

* ''Guerrilla'' (2020)

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazar Living people Male songwriters Musicians from Manchester 1993 births