Voto Gonçalves, a legend of semba, joins LNKS Luanda Music Group

Voto Gonçalves has joined LNKS Luanda Music Group. Born António Jesus de Oliveira Gonçalves on 12 February 1949 in Musseque Pedrosa, in the Marçal neighbourhood of Luanda, he has been singing for more than fifty years, and he still sings with the same conviction: that better days will come, and that music is the way to reach them.

Some artists make records. A few become part of a country's story. Voto Gonçalves is one of them. It is an honour to welcome him to LNKS Luanda Music Group, and a privilege to work alongside a voice that has given so much to Angolan music and still has so much to give.

A voice in Angola's story

By twelve he was already performing as a singer and percussionist. In the 1960s he played rhythm guitar and bass with the Rolling Stars and the New Lover's, and his husky, soulful voice earned him the nickname Tony Redding. In 1969, during his military service in Muxima, he founded the band Maka Ku Muxima as lead guitarist and turned to Angolan popular music, rooted in the sound of Luanda.

With Os Kiezos and their soloist Marito Arcanjo he began his solo career. At the CT1 studios of Rádio Nacional de Angola he recorded "Ngola Iami", "Koleno África" and "Kilamba Neto", songs of patriotism and of hope for a better Africa. With Os Merengues he recorded "Caminho Incerto", one of the most beautiful songs of his career, and in 1993 he became lead singer of Semba Tropical.

Albums, stages and a new generation

His album "Novos Tempos" (2002) carried "Esperança do Amanhã", which spent more than two months in the RTP África chart, and "Onongombe", still one of his most played songs. "Pão com Chouriço" followed in 2010 and the EP "Ocipito" in 2018. His voice has taken him to Cape Verde, Portugal, Mozambique, Moscow, Brazil, Kinshasa, Italy, Germany for the 2006 World Cup and South Korea for Expo 2012.

A new generation keeps seeking him out: he has recorded with Flay, Karina Santos and DJ PauloRusso, and in 2026 he took the stage at Luanda's historic Palácio de Ferro. Read his full biography on his artist page.