Albino Mbie

Albino Mbie is a songwriter and composer from Mozambique.

He built his first guitar at 16 from a five-litre oil can, scrap wood and strings made out of electrical cords. Drawn to the sounds of neighborhood street musicians in Maputo, Albino began to play in a number of local bands. While studying music education and performance at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, he heard about the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, where he could expand his musical horizons. Soon after, Mbie was one of the first students to receive a full scholarship to Berklee through the African Scholars programme.

In 2009, he settled in Boston, Massachusetts. At Berklee, he was exposed to a variety of influences, but wanted to go deeper into the roots of jazz and expand his knowledge of music. He auditioned and was selected to participate in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, which helped Mbie find his own unique voice in the art form. Albino still felt the absence of his own Mozambican traditions in his music. With the help of his mentors, Richard Bona and Lionel Loueke, two of the most prominent African musicians in the USA today, he began to bridge that gap. Albino’s original composition 'Mozambique Dance' was recorded by Jazz Revelation Records, a student-run record label at the Berklee College of Music, for the 8th annual album released in 2011. He also recorded 'Awusiwana', his own composition, for the Berklee 2012 summer album. In 2012, he graduated from Berklee College with a degree in Music Production & Engineering and Performance, and a minor in Acoustics and Electronics.

Today, Albino's music incorporates his musical experiences from Mozambique and the US, combining rhythmic patterns and musical concepts to create a unique 'Moz-Jazz' sound. His debut album, also called 'Mozambique Dance' was released on July 2013. Albino is an active musician and has performed in several countries including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Italy, the US and Mexico. He has also produced and recorded various projects in Mozambique and in the US.