Lus

Cesaria Evora may have put the Cape Verde islands on the musical map, but the next generation of artists from the Atlantic archipelago is now bringing an extraordinary variety of music to the world. Like so many of her compatriots, Nancy Vieira has lived a good portion of her life away from Cape Verde, but she is an expert in delivering the distinctive, lilting rhythms and melodies that evoke wind and surf. Her broadly traditional music is unaffected and gentle, employing a wide range of the Islands’ many styles – the morna, the coladeira, the funana and the batuque. She sings songs by Cape Verdean composers and one self–penned track, ‘Vivê Sabin, covering the familiar themes of love, longing, dislocation and nostalgia with frequent references to moon and sea. Her voice is honeyed but robust, supported attentively by her excellent band, who benefit from Jorge Cervantes’ colourful arrangements and provide a subtle background of strings on the saddest morna numbers.

Part of the charm of Vieira’s music lies in its fluctuating moods. A sparse melody will morph into a playful or passionate dance, with the band weaving a repetitive, rhythmic figure into the melody, completely changing the nature of the song – a device that is dreamily effective on ‘Tchoro Cantado’. Other songs sample Brazilian and Cuban dance rhythms and although they are always well performed, they lack the organic sparkle of the rest of the album. Nevertheless, Lus radiates an understated but emotive elegance. Vieira, like the ‘barefoot diva’ Evora, is a star of Cape Verdean music.