When Delano first profiled the Moien dance online in June, only 200 people had watched the fun music video filmed in Luxembourg, but now that summer is drawing to a close the Youtube video has received more than 3,500 hits.
The catchy tune is written, performed and mixed by Ouedraogo Hazael Pawentaore, who moved to the grand duchy four years ago but says he feels like Luxembourg has always been his home.
“I really like to use sampling, recording a sound or a word to create a synthesizer sound. One day I was in my studio and I had the idea to sample the word Moien and compose a song about Luxembourg. People think Luxembourg is boring with nothing to do, but in this song I prove the opposite,” says Pawentaore.
Moien to the left, Moien to the right
The track starts with the words “In Luxembourg to greet someone we say Moien”, and then goes on to explain the Moien dance moves and express how fun, chilled and great life is in Luxembourg, finishing with the words “Luxembourg you can’t ignore”.
“It’s a very popular dance step, but I got the idea of dancing twice to the left and twice to the right. I like going out with my family and friends here, there are so many activities for all ages, and such good local food,” explains Pawentaore, who was born in Burkina Faso and lived in Belgium before moving to Luxembourg.
Video filmed on Luxembourg’s streets
The black and white video for the song was filmed outside the Philharmonie, in the streets of Luxembourg City and in Place Guillaume where Pawentaore performed a mini concert with musician friends as part of the My Urban Piano initiative. “People enjoyed it a lot, they danced and had fun,” he says.
Pawentaore says his favourite comment on the song says: “As a Luxembourger and proud to be, congratulations on your Moien clip!” Although he only promoted the song on social networks, it has been played all summer long in the bars of Luxembourg and he’s had several invitations to perform the song live with his dancers.
Pawentaore studied music and sound engineering, has coached artists and produced several albums and composes music for companies and commercials. He also runs a music agency for singers and musicians to perform at events.
This month he will be adapting the Moien dance song and its steps for kids, and will produce a special Moien T-shirt. He also plans to meet up with brands and agencies to promote the song to a wider audience and will continue to do live performances with his dancers.
His next venture is a song he’s already finished entitled “My city goes back to the 80s” and once again, he will be filming a video clip locally in Luxembourg City to accompany it. He is currently inviting fans who want to participate in the video clip to dress up in 80s clothing or bring their 80s car or other paraphernalia, with more details of the filming on his website.
“As long as I keep finding inspiration in Luxembourg, I’ll keep recording new songs about this place.”