It was the barefoot diva Cesaria Evora who put the Cape Verde Islands on the musical map, with her breakout albums and international tours in the 1990s. She sang a melancholic and intimate style called morna, a hybrid music fused from Portuguese fado music and local traditional styles.
Evora had the same kind of success as the Buena Vista Social Club -- fame and fortune came late in life. But while fans searched for other morna singers, the popular music that came of age with independence from Portugal was largely ignored. There are exceptions, like the early compilation on Luaka Bop by The Talking Heads' David Byrne, and a few other early compilations that featured bands like Tam Tam 2000. A new compilation from Ostinato, Synthesise The Soul: Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica From The Cape Verde Islands 1973-1988, sets the record straight.
The Cape Verde Islands and Guinea-Bissau were ruled by Portugal for more than five centuries, and as with other African countries, the fight for freedom from colonial rule began in the early 1960s and ended with independence in 1975. What marks the archipelago as unique is the fact that more Cape Verdeans live outside the country than in it; it was the Cape Verdean diaspora that helped create the pop music in the 1970s and 80s. And because of this, sounds from international discos like R&B, disco and funk, along with souk, soca and salsa were worked into the mix.
Cape Verde created one of the first creole cultures -- way before Columbus landed in the Caribbean -- from Portuguese traders working the West African coast, and from links to the Atlantic, from Brazil and the Caribbean to New England. It's worth keeping in mind the hybridity of the culture when considering the tracks on this excellent compilation.
The music on the album was created, in the main, by bands who plied their trade in cities across Africa and Europe. The music is driven by scratchy guitars, pumping bass (remember, disco ruled the dance floors at this time) and cosmic keyboards. This compilation twins nicely with Analogue Africa's trippy Space Echo: The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde, but the Ostinato album is far better-oriented to the dance floor. As soon as I heard the first few tracks I was reminded of links to zouk (from the Caribbean Antilles islands), soca (Trinidad and Tobago), bachata (Dominican republic), as well as Cameroonian pop music. This is music that fills the dance floor.
There are lots of standout tracks that feature choppy guitars and weird, sometimes cheesy, keyboard riffs like on the opening Nos Criola by Nhu De Ped'Bia, which features astro keyboards from outer space spiked with guitar riffs and brass -- and once the band hits the groove, they keep it there, adding a touch of saudade (sodade, in Verdean creole), that quintessential Portuguese feeling of sadness and melancholy, to what is a most impressive track.
The groove continues on the next track, Nanda, by Pedrinho, which flies off on the wings of twin guitars and cosmic keyboards and builds to a great climax. Also worth mentioning is the African funk and disco on tracks like Danca T'Manche by Val Xalino, Corpo Limpo by Tulipa Negra, and the delightful final track, Canta Cu Alma Sem Ser Magoado, by Bana.
Elsewhere, the tracks that caught my attention were those closely linked to local popular styles like funaná. Chema by Pedrinho, a hypnotic dance floor sizzler I will certainly spin at my next DJ night, and Chuma Lopes by Elisio Gomes and Joachim Varela are both tracks that feature blended-roots influences from across the diaspora. If you are a fan of tropical pop, then check out this fine compilation, which includes extensive and illustrated liner notes, written by compiler Vic Sohonie, Susan Hurley-Glowa and Olav Aalberg. This is a fascinating album that reveals a hitherto unknown cache of wonderful up-tempo dance music that reflects the optimism of people enjoying their independence and freedom.
More information can be found at http://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com.
John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com
