Celso Jonas, mostly known as Navaa, is a Mozambican example of youth, with dreams and goals in the world of music. Inspired by his dabbling in Organic House, Downtempo, Oriental Deep, AfroTech & Deep Tech, he’s developed a liking for ritual sounds, often incorporating natural touches in his tracks.By 2019, Navaa’s efforts bore fruit in the launching of his first track, through a Mozambican label called Ritual Sonoris. Soon after the release of his first EP, the artist was contacted to release music by 7Armies Music, Just Move Records, Hoomidaas Records, RYNTH Music, Xibalo Records, AH DIGITAL, Sound Avenue, Dialtone Records, Circle of life, Mirrors & The Purr.
Now a Resident Dj on Sala Estimulante, his goal is to attract worldwide respect towards his own, as well as his nation’s talents.
He has joined us in a conversation about his musical inspiration and his newest projects in the interview below.
How are you, what’s good and bad in your world?
I’m doing great thanks!
The good part is that I’m always united with those I like through music.
The bad is that we don’t have as many parties and festivals as we would like.. new variants of this virus are always in the making to ruin our plans!
What was it like to get back to partying and DJing again after the pandemic?
It’s such a good feeling, and being back at it makes me feel alive more than ever. “Djing for me is like breathing”.
How did you evolve your own sound while staying true to your roots and own signature, not jumping on new hype bandwagons?
I love music and it’s been around my whole life, I love what I do. It’s something I like I’m not looking for Hype just sharing what I like to do with the world
What inspired the new VA “On my other side of the moon”?
I always make music with no vision of where I want it played or signed,
but the new VA is very special release for me because it captures a pivotal time in my evolution. I had this feeling that I needed to express my music differently, and of course it’s 100% Mozambican.
How did you decide which tunes to include?
It was something random but the track I made with Double Drop and Arisis was something made specifically for that project.
Misty temple and Terra Dos Sonhos, I did them at the same time so I thought I’d better incorporate them all into the VA
How did you connect with these artist and what made you do so?
We’ve known each other for a long time in the Mozambican music scene, just thankful to the music for bringing us together and building this beautiful project, “Mozambican All stars”
What else have you got coming up/are you working on?
I’m working on many tunes and I’m super excited about what’s coming. I have future releases on labels like Dialtone , RYNTH , and some others which I prefer to keep secret for the moment.
What hopes and dreams do you have for 2022?
I just think about continuing my work, to share the music with the world, after the fantastic year that was 2021, I’m still digesting what was achieved.
I want to thank you all for this interview! It was super fun and interesting to do a deep research into myself.
