Traditional music
What better way to plumb the soul of Cape Verde than by listening to its music? A blend of African, Portuguese, Arab and Brazilian influences, it forms the bedrock of Cape Verde's identity. The more you listen to Cape Verdean music, the more you discover the archipelago. And there's no better gateway than the morna, the national genre (often sung in kriolu, Cape Verdean Creole). Probably originating on the island of Boa Vista, the morna first appeared around 1800. Full of melancholy, it evokes love, but above all nostalgia, and seems to have been shaped by episodes of slavery, drought, hunger and forced emigration. Born of the slave trade, it has been forged from a variety of influences, summoning Angola and its ancestral rhythm called lundum, Argentina with tango and Portugal with fado, of which the genre is a distant cousin. The morna is a national treasure which, in 2019, was finally recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Although Eugenio Tavares popularized the genre in the 1920s, it was the immense Cesária Evora who did most to make the music known the world over. There's no need to introduce the woman who was Cape Verde's best ambassador abroad. She is the "Barefoot Diva" who became a star at the age of 50, revealing the beauty of Cape Verdean culture to the world with her success. She passed away in 2011, leaving the country she helped put on the map orphaned. The latter paid tribute to her with a grand and moving state funeral. While we must give Cesária her due, we must not forget the many artists who have made morna in the archipelago and in the diaspora. This is amply demonstrated by Bana, a veritable sacred monster and one of the greatest names in morna and coladeira. B. Leza, the nickname given to Francisco Xavier da Cruz, who is still remembered for the evolution of classical morna, and Ildo Lobo, one of the country's hottest voices, much appreciated in Europe. Far from being a purely patrimonial genre, groups from the younger generation, such as Cordas do Sol, have taken morna and given it a new lease of life.
In the 1930s and 1940s, morna evolved into a faster, lighter, more humorous and sensual form of music known as coladeira. Highly rhythmic, halfway between African and Brazilian rhythms, it emerged in working-class circles, away from the circles and cafés where the noble morna was sung. More mischievous, more frivolous, coladeira also likes to tackle social issues with derision and sarcasm. The genre has known some great composers who have brought it to a wide audience, such as Ti Goy, Frank Cavaquim and Manuel de Novas. Less associated with the genre are singers Nancy Vieira, Fantcha and Maria de Barros, who also have some pretty coladeiras in their repertoire. And, of course, with songs such as Sangue de Beirona, Nutridinha and Terezinha, the diva Cesária Evora has also helped make the genre known the world over.
Another of the archipelago's traditional genres is the funaná. Typically African, the funana became, after independence, one of the symbols of the affirmation of Cape Verdean identity. Based on the accordion, the rhythm is generally set by the ferrinho, a bar-shaped idiophone often resembling a simple piece of scrap metal. Feverish, festive and carrying a contagious energy, funana has evolved considerably over time before experiencing its current revival. The first icon of the genre was Bulimundo in the 1980s, a group led by Carlos Alberto Martins, alias Catchás (or Katchas). It was he who really popularized the genre by electrifying it (guitar, synthesizer, bass), thus opening the doors to discotheques. In the 1990s, it was Finaçon, a group born of a split with Bulimundo, who internationalized the genre. In addition to its music, funana is also emblematic for its vigorously executed stick-to-your-ribs dance.
The last emblematic Cape Verdean genre is batuque (or " batuku"). Originally from Santiago, it was, and still is, performed at popular festivals and ceremonies such as weddings and christenings. Although its rhythm was imported from Africa by slaves, batuque has its origins in women's work in the fields under Portuguese colonial rule. Aside from the singers' voices, the only instruments used are pieces of rag and plastic bags packed together, forming what is known as the tchabeta. The women, crouching or seated, place them between their legs and use them as drums, tapping them in a fast, jerky fashion. A female singer then begins a lament-like song (le finaçon), taken up in chorus by the rest of the group. The women dance in turn, their pelvises adorned with loincloths, swaying their hips to and fro to an extremely fast, jerky rhythm. Santiago's most popular batuque singer and composer is Naciâ Gómi. She is to batuque what Cesária Evora is to morna. After independence, in the 1980s, one man took a particular interest in batuque, playing it on guitar and creating new themes: Orlando Pantera. The artist remains a myth for Santiago's youth, a myth reinforced in 2001 when he died suddenly just a few days before recording his first album. After his death, a generation of young Santiago musicians - Mayra Andrade, Tcheka, Princezito and above all Vadu - followed in Pantera's footsteps, playing batuque in their own way. Surprisingly, the batuque has received an unexpected spotlight in 2019 thanks to... Madonna. The singer wrote a batuque ("Batuka ") for her album Madame X, the clip even inviting the Orquestra De Batukadeiras de Portugal, a famous women's batuque group from Lisbon.
In Cape Verde, music is a daily affair. It's heard and danced to everywhere, all the time. But there are also dedicated events where you can see the cream of local musicians. Such is the case of the Semana da Morna in Boa Vista, a week dedicated to the national genre on the island of its birth. Otherwise, to see the headliners and other local legends, whether in traditional music or more modern forms, there's no better place than Praia's Kriol Jazz Festival. The place to see Mayra Andrade as well as Bulimundo and Tito Paris.
Popular music
In addition to the legends of traditional music mentioned above, there are a few names that are particularly popular with the public today. Starting with Mayra Andrade. Now living in Lisbon after ten years in Paris, Mayra is undoubtedly, after Cesária, the best-known Cape Verdean singer within our borders. Already a major international star, she has made a name for herself by putting her captivating voice at the service of beautiful lyrics set to traditional rhythms, modernized to perfection. Her debut album Navega (2006) is a must-have for all Cape Verdean music fans. Her subsequent albums are just as much a must for all music lovers. Another of Cesária Evora's great heirs, Mariana Ramos now embodies the morna whose spleen she sings with great tenderness. Lura, the latest name to win over audiences, brings together all the popular rhythms of the Cape Verde archipelago, from funana to morna and coladeira, with a magic all her own.
Another particularly popular genre in the archipelago: zouk! Directly imported from the French West Indies and Martinique in particular, the style conquered young Cape Verdeans in the 1990s before becoming a must-have here. By dint of hearing it on local radio stations and discotheque dancefloors, the country has given the genre a purely Cape Verdean cousin, the languorous cabo-love (or "cabo-zouk"). In a curious twist of fate, the style has become a big hit with the West Indian community. Gil Semedo is considered one of the pioneers and pillars of cabo-love, becoming one of the most important artists in Portuguese-speaking Africa. Other names to know include To Semedo, Suzanna Lubrano and Mika Mendes, three stars of the field. Most of these names can also be found in another local derivative of zouk: cola-zouk. In the 1980s, the Cape Verdean diaspora began marrying traditional coladeira with kompa (a Haitian genre) to create a style related to zouk called "cola-zouk".
