Over the next couple of weeks the Lounge will highlight all the artists that will be present in this year's Luanda International Jazz Festival, many times using posts that have already been featured here. The line-up is mouthwatering and includes such jazz virtuosos as George Benson and Ronny Jordan, funky beats by Freshlyground and 340ml, coladera and batuque by Lura, Cameroonian tunes by Blick Bassy...the list goes on. The second featured artists will be the ones performing on Saturday , Day 2 of the Festival. After Freshlyground (hopefully) ends Friday night with aplomb, Lura will open Saturday's festivities and serenade us into bliss.
Since Lura is well known around these parts, below are older but still relevant posts about this beautiful and talented singer. As a bonus, at the end of the post is Quebrod Nem Djosa, from her most recent album, Eclipse.
Durante as próximas semanas o Lounge vai destacar todos os artistas que estarão presente na segunda edição do Luanda International Jazz Festival, muitas vezes reciclando posts que já foram destacados neste espaço. O elenco é mesmo 'bala'. Iinclui grandes nomes do jazz internacional tal como o George Benson e o Ronny Jordan, funky beats pelos Freshlyground e os 340ml, coladera e batuque pela Lura, músicas da África oeste pelo Blick Bassy...a lista continua. Os segundos artistas destacados serão os que actuarão no sábado, o segundo dia do festival. Os Freshlyground certamente que vão rebentar com a sala na sexta-feira á noite, mas a Lura irá nos reabastecer as forças logo na inauguração do segundo dia.
Como a Lura já é desta casa, abaixo estão os posts antigos mas relevantes sobre esta linda e habilidosa cantora. Como bónus, no fim do post tem a sua canção Quebrod Nem Djosa, do seu mais recente disco, Eclipse.
Lura
The picture above captures Lura’s riveting beauty and the self-contained but exuberant passion she has for her music, all in a moment of quiet, serene exaltation. She was born in Lisbon but both her parents hail from Cape Verde, as her father is from Santiago island and her mother from São Nicolau. Lura has come a long way since her days as one of
Cesária Évora’s backup singers and dancers. The sensual diva first caught the attention of Évora’s producer José da Silva after she sang duets with Lusophone music heavyweights such as Bonga and Tito Paris, since a voice like hers is hard to keep quiet. Da Silva produced her musical debut,
Di Korpo Ku Alma, which features
Na Ri Na, one of her most famous songs. But the songs featured here are from her sophomore effort,
M’Bem di Fora, featuring a more mature, more liberated Lura. Steeped in her parents’ preferred rhythms of funana and batuque,
M’Bem di Fora is self-consciously Cape Verdean, an aural journey through the archipelago, very reminiscent of
Mayra Andrade. The title track is my favorite song of hers, sang with Zeca Nha Reinalda, one of Cape Verde’s most well known artists.
Fitiço di Funana is not far behind, a beautiful funana track that tests your resolve to not dance.
M'Bem di ForaFitico di FunanaLura é linda. A foto acima captura a sua beleza natural, serena, num momento silencioso de exaltação e paixão pela sua música, a prenda que ela deu ao mundo. Nasceu em Lisboa de pais Cabo Verdeanos, o pai da ilha de Santiago e a mãe de São Nicolau. Ja percorreu um longo caminho desde os tempos em que era bailarina de
Cesária Évora. Foi descoberta pelo productor de Cesária, um tal de José da Silva, que descobriu a sua voz única após participações dela em músicas do São Tomense Juka, do Bonga, e do Tito Paris. É díficil uma voz destas ficar na obscuridade por muito tempo, e não tardou nada até que Lura fizesse o seu primeiro album com José da Silva intitulado
Di Korpo Ku Alma, que contém a canção
Na Ri Na, a mais conhecida dela. Mas os sons destacados aqui são do seu segundo album
M’Bem di Fora, em que Lura está mais solta e consciente das suas reais capacidades. As suas canções fazem lembrar
Mayra Andrade, da forma que nos transportam ao arquipélago Cabo Verdeano. A canção com o mesmo nome do album é a minha preferida dela, cantada com o grande Zeca Nha Reinalda.
Fitiço di Funana não fica muito longe atrás – é um funana daqueles que não vale ficar sentado e não dançar. Mesmo sem saber como.
- Photo by
AfricolorLura on
MyspaceLura's
websiteLura Canta Um Tango
Over the last couple of days I have been listening a lot to
Lura’s latest album, Eclipse, which came out around March of this year. It’s definitely a bit more subdued than M’Bem di Fora, which remains my favorite album of hers, but nonetheless it’s an impressive piece of work. Once again Lura demonstrates that she is one of Cape Verde’s brightest stars, constantly perfecting her work. Two tracks that exemplify her versatility and exuberance are Canta um Tango and Libramor. Canta um Tango was written by the group Katango and goes where no other Cape Verdean artist has gone before. It’s a beautiful, creole flavored rendition of Argentina’s favorite genre, and it’s just as melancholic as the original. Perhaps Lura has experience with melancholy due to her love of singing morna. The second track included here is Libramor, my favorite song of the album. The way it builds is brilliant. The rhythmic percussion solo, then the subtle addition of batuques, then the eruption of the flowing guitar, and finally Lura’s voice, all within the first blissful 30 seconds. The rest of the song doesn’t disappoint, either.
Canta um TangoLibramorTenho escutado bastante último CD de
Lura, que ela chamou de Eclipse. O CD está a venda desde Março, mas so recentemente consegui por as minhas mãos nele, e ouvir-lhe com a atenção que merece. É um CD um pouco mais calmo e pensativo que M’Bem di Fora, que continua ser o meu CD preferido desta cantora diminutiva que eu adoro, mas mesmo assim Eclipse é um trabalho excelente. Mais uma vez Lura mostra porquê que é uma das vozes mais belas de Cabo Verde. Como evidência aqui estão duas canções belas deste novo album: Canta um Tango e Libramor. Canta um Tango é uma canção linda e serena escrita pelo grupo Kantango e gravado em Nápoles. É a primeira vez que oiço uma voz Caboverdiana cantando a música preferida dos Argentinos, a música de Astor Piazzola e Carlos Gardel. O toque creole é uma bela reinterpretação deste estilo musical triste e melancólico, adjectivos que tambem podem ser usados para descrever o morna, estilo com o qual Lura tem prévia experiência. E por fim temos Libramor, a minha canção preferida do Eclipse. So os primeiros 30 segundos ja são suficientes para aliciar-me. A percurssão começa à solo, mas o ritmo ja me faz mexer o corpo. Depois uns batuques subtis, e logo a seguir a guitarra a fluir e a abrir-se como uma flor recém-nascida. E como cereja no topo do bolo, la vem a voz de Lura. Tudo isso so nos primeiros 30 segundos...
-Photo by
Africolor
Lura OnlineEclipse on
AmazonQuebrod Nem Djosa
For those who have followed Lura since her Na Ri Na days, Lura’s
fourth album Eclipse shows the graceful maturity of one of Cape Verde’s greatest voices, a woman who is now establishing herself as a major force in Cape Verde’s music scene. Quebrod Nem Djosa is a daring example of how she is modernizing the island’s sound by creating her very own.
Para quem tem estado a acompanhar a carreira da Lura desde os seus dias do Na Ri Na, o seu quarto album, Eclipse demonstra a maturidade com a qual a Lura enfrenta e sente a música. Hoje em dia é uma das grandes vozes do arquipelago, e ja se torna difícil falar de música cabo-verdiana sem falar dela. Quebrod Nem Djosa é um verdadeiro exemplo de como ela está a modernizar a música cabo-verdiana criando o seu próprio som único.Quebrod Nem Djosa
Over the next couple of weeks the Lounge will highlight all the artists that will be present in this year's Luanda International Jazz Festival, many times using posts that have already been featured here. The line-up is mouthwatering and includes such jazz virtuosos as George Benson and Ronny Jordan, funky beats by Freshlyground and 340ml, coladera and batuque by Lura, Cameroonian tunes by Blick Bassy...the list goes on. The second featured artists will be the ones performing on Saturday , Day 2 of the Festival. After Freshlyground (hopefully) ends Friday night with aplomb, Lura will open Saturday's festivities and serenade us into bliss.
The picture above captures Lura’s riveting beauty and the self-contained but exuberant passion she has for her music, all in a moment of quiet, serene exaltation. She was born in Lisbon but both her parents hail from Cape Verde, as her father is from Santiago island and her mother from São Nicolau. Lura has come a long way since her days as one of Cesária Évora’s backup singers and dancers. The sensual diva first caught the attention of Évora’s producer José da Silva after she sang duets with Lusophone music heavyweights such as Bonga and Tito Paris, since a voice like hers is hard to keep quiet. Da Silva produced her musical debut, Di Korpo Ku Alma, which features Na Ri Na, one of her most famous songs. But the songs featured here are from her sophomore effort, M’Bem di Fora, featuring a more mature, more liberated Lura. Steeped in her parents’ preferred rhythms of funana and batuque, M’Bem di Fora is self-consciously Cape Verdean, an aural journey through the archipelago, very reminiscent of Mayra Andrade. The title track is my favorite song of hers, sang with Zeca Nha Reinalda, one of Cape Verde’s most well known artists. Fitiço di Funana is not far behind, a beautiful funana track that tests your resolve to not dance.
Over the last couple of days I have been listening a lot to Lura’s latest album, Eclipse, which came out around March of this year. It’s definitely a bit more subdued than M’Bem di Fora, which remains my favorite album of hers, but nonetheless it’s an impressive piece of work. Once again Lura demonstrates that she is one of Cape Verde’s brightest stars, constantly perfecting her work. Two tracks that exemplify her versatility and exuberance are Canta um Tango and Libramor. Canta um Tango was written by the group Katango and goes where no other Cape Verdean artist has gone before. It’s a beautiful, creole flavored rendition of Argentina’s favorite genre, and it’s just as melancholic as the original. Perhaps Lura has experience with melancholy due to her love of singing morna. The second track included here is Libramor, my favorite song of the album. The way it builds is brilliant. The rhythmic percussion solo, then the subtle addition of batuques, then the eruption of the flowing guitar, and finally Lura’s voice, all within the first blissful 30 seconds. The rest of the song doesn’t disappoint, either.
It’s come full circle. A lot of Lusophone Africa’s music can be traced back to its former colonial master; it was the music of Portugal that first influenced its colonies, with the accordions and the guitars shaping such sounds as Cape Verde’s funaná and Angola’s semba. Now, it is funaná that is shaping the sound of OqueStrada, a thoroughly Portuguese group that specializes in a sound writer Philip Graham calls ‘pan-Portuguese’. I fell hard in love with OqueStrada. It’s hard not to. The clear ringing voice of its lead singer Miranda and the total energy and abandon displayed by this 5 person band is infections. OqueStrada splendidly incorporates the spirit of a changing Portugal. If you have ever been to Lisbon and experienced its multiculturalism, the sublime clash of Cape Verdean funaná with Portuguese Fado, the sound of semba wafting into your ear drums in downtown Lisbon, Brazilians and Angolans delighting themselves with Portuguese cuisine, then you will identify with OqueStrada and you will love them. You will love their bohemian nature, their boundless energy, their love for music, their love for today’s Portugal. Because only in today’s cosmopolitan Portugal is it possible for such a band to emerge, a band that fuses fado with funaná and ska and African rhythms as if it was nothing new.
They are the biggest band in Cape Verde.
I don’t know what draws me to her more, her slightly raspy, beautiful voice or her stunning looks. Maybe it’s the exotic combination of the two. Mayra has the kind of voice that is perfect for starting out your day in the morning, or ending it on a quiet, sensual note at night. I was first introduced to her work by my brother on one of my trips to Angola a couple of years ago. The song he showed me was Mana, an acoustic melody that got me immediately hooked. I yearned for more and bought her whole debut album, Navega, upon returning to the States.
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