Not all kizomba songs (or any other related styles) are for dancing, or even considered a good song.
- Some of them are low energy, suitable for listening, relaxation, and having a good time at home alone, or with family/friends/loved ones.
- High energy songs are great for the clubs and the parties. These events allow us to show our skills.
- Also worth mentioning that not all DJs are competent, and thus play songs not suitable for kizomba dancing (for example afrobeat / naija songs).
“House” songs generally
- have mellow voice, low energy;
- are more melodic, chilling, or calming;
- have not much frequency change in voice;
- are flat, are having less variation, have very repetitive rhythm with a lot of breaks;
- start low, can have longer intro;
Example “house” songs:
- Grace Evora – Lolita (style: cabo-zouk)
- Kanda – Pardon (house, but with enough energy for first/last song in the club, style: kizomba)
- Calysto Ferreira – Nha Preta (style: ghetto zouk)
- Paulo Flores feat. Yuri Da Cunha – Njila ia Dikanga (first part is for listening, second part is suitable in the club, style: semba)
“Club” songs generally
- have high energy guitar, plates;
- the strength of the voice changes, lot of frequency changes;
- have high energy instruments like trumpets, saxophone;
- have lot of rhythmic changes and transitions, changes in the pace;
- if they have konpa flavour, it always brings energy;
- almost instantly start with higher energy;
Example “club” songs:
- Yola Semedo – Maria no Maioria (style: kizomba)
- Maya Cool feat. Matias Damásio – Minha Princesa (style: kizomba)
- Jojó Gouveia – Recado (style: kizomba)
- Patricia Faria – De Caxexe (style: semba)
- Badoxa – Cigana Linda (belongs to club, little bit of a “cooling off” song, can be a great transitional song to a ghetto zouk section of a DJ set; style: tarraxinha)
The interpretation of the music can differ from person-to-person. One person might consider a song a house song, the other might interpret it suitable for dancing in the club. The distinction is not always clear. A house song can also be danced on if you feel like it. It is not a strict rule! There are songs that are good party starters with enough energy to get into the dancing mood. The faster tempo of the music not necessary means higher energy.
These example songs were taken partially from an online class of a known Angolan deejay, DJ Galo Super. You may classify the songs differently but it is completely fine. The whole article serves as a general guideline, or a framework to think about music in terms of its “energy level”.
References
Eddy Vents Kizomba Teacher Training Course
