Son of Angola's president learning about K-pop

Coreon Du / Courtesy of Coreon Du

By Rachel Lee

Korea has always inspired people to be creative and learn about themselves, an Angolan music producer says.

Angola-born Jose Eduardo Paulino dos Santos, better known by his stage name Coreon Du, is an emerging artist who has gained international attention as a singer, model agent, designer and television producer.

The son of Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has won numerous awards, including Africa Movie Academy Awards and Angolan Fashion Awards in 2015. His telenovela “Windeck” was nominated for an Emmy last year.

His latest drama production “Jikulumessu” won the Best Serial Drama Award at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2015 — which is why Coreon Du, 31, is in Korea for the first time.

“I am very intrigued by the aesthetics of the city,” he told The Korea Times. “I looked at a lot of attention to detail. For example, you have the most visually interesting bridges I’ve seen in any of the cities I visited. It’s not just regular design, but interior design or architecture per se.”

He has always loved music, but thought people would not like his voice.

Coreon Du has released three albums since 2010 — “The Coreon Experiment,” “The WeDu Experiment” and “Binario.” / Courtesy of Coreon Du

“When I was around 12 to 13, was when I found out my voice was actually appealing to other people, which made me very happy,” Coreon Du said.

However, his parents were not happy with him pursuing music as a profession.

“My parents were not into the idea of me being a musician,” he said. “In Angolan culture, parents like to brag about their kids having musical talent, but very few parents actually want them to be music professionals or art professionals.

“It’s like almost everywhere else. Everyone wants you to be lawyer or doctor or something that’s more sensible, not like an artistic profession.”

“Only after I got a few awards did my parents begin to become more interested.”

After studying mass communication at the Loyola University New Orleans in the United States and Dance Theater at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the United Kingdom, Coreon Du returned home and his music career began to take form.

“Around 2008 I was experimenting more professionally when it comes to music and a year later I started to record my album called ‘Experiment’ released in 2010,” the artist said. “At the end of 2009, my music career began. My first album was released in 2010 and I have been performing since then.”

“The Coreon Experiment” is a “fusion of sounds that reflect his main musical influences,” mixing pop with semba, jazz, kilapanga, funk, bossanova, rock, kuduro, Latin rhythms and kizomba.

It received wide acclaim and prompted a tour of international jazz festivals, including a performance at the world-famous Madrid Jazz Festival, in 2012, that elevated him on to the world stage.

His “The WeDu Experiment,” released in 2013, was a big hit. It features new interpretations of his songs developed in collaboration with such well-known artists as Phil Asher, Daniel Haaksman, DJ Spooky and Nuno Mendes. His latest album “Binario,” launched last year in New York, includes new singles “Bailando Kizomba: and “Amor Robotico.”

“Semba is an inspiration for my music, and so are kilapanga and kuduro,” Coreon Du said.

Semba is a traditional type of music from Angola, belonging to the same family as the Brazilian Samba. It is one of the famous music styles along with kizomba and kuduro. Kilapanga is a genre of soft music common in central Africa.

Coreon Du said it was not easy to get access to Korean culture both traditional and pop culture, although he believes the two countries have a lot of things to learn from each other.

“I have younger siblings who are into Asian culture — they are a source of information,” the artist said.

Asked about Korean pop, Coreon Du said: “You are using a combination of Korean and Western elements to make something very interesting.

“And everyone is perfectly styled, the choreography is impeccable and the sounds are well mixed.”

“In Angola, there are a lot of ethno linguistic groups, and like most African nations, through colonization. Very different group of people became one nationality. Each region is very different. Sometimes people think Luanda is the centre of everything, but it’s really not.”

As the creative director for his own label Wedu by Coreon Du, Korean fashion has also caught his eye since he was abroad studying.

“I think it’s bold, aesthetic and very interesting; designers like Juun.J. I really like what Korean designers do.”

He believes Korea and Angola have similar cultural features — both are linked to aesthetics and both are family oriented.

“Angola is a very family oriented culture. And I found that there is also family orientation in many Asian countries, including Korea.”

“But Angolan culture is more open to improvisation, whereas in Korea everything is more meticulous.”

He said Korean culture was “about maintaining tradition but always transforming and aspiring to something more.

“Korea inspires people who are not from here to be creative and to learn about themselves. I think that’s a very interesting skill,” he said.

Coreon Du is founder of Da Banda modelling agency in Angola and organizer of Elite Model Look Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and South Africa.

“It’s important not to work according to trends, but it’s important to respect trends, and always to think about the day after the trends,” he said.