“Ceiba” by Alu

At just 19 years old, Cutemobb collective member Alu Nguema is making his debut as an artist with first official track, “Ceiba”. Having first been introduced to the world of art through dance when he was a child, Alu has spent his years between Equatorial Guinea and Spain, becoming involved with various different artists over the years. From starting out as a vocalist on Cutemobb’s first mixtape “Cute Tapes” to accompanying Leïti Sene on his first tour of Spain, all his endeavours have filtered into this first mixtape, due later this summer.

 

A fitting debut, “Ceiba” honours his roots and story as a song he wants to both make us dance, and to transport us back to his childhood in Equatorial Guinea. “In this song I’m talking about my origins, my childhood, the fact that if I hadn’t lived in Guinea maybe I wouldn’t dance or sing,” he says. “In Guinea the art is very tied to culture and I want you to see all the energy that my country has contributed to me and that everyone sees the lifestyle that is led there. The song is about the culture, the memories, the customs that I have come to have there. The essence, the identity that I have as a Guinean, the environment and how everything has worked there.”

 

Landing with a video directed by Jordi Lops, it’s a nostalgic and evocative debut setting down both Alu’s roots and vision for the future. “The video represents in a certain way my childhood lived in Equatorial Guinea, all the nostalgia I feel when thinking about that time and wanting to return to my homeland,” Alu adds. “The children who appear in the video represent that and act as a common thread to show my past in Guinea. It also represents the cultural mix with which I have been raised due to my dual nationality. I want to highlight Afro culture, Afro women, the cultural actions that most represent us (braiding, dreadlocks) in a continent alien to all those customs and share them with the rest of the world.”