The name “Lucibela” conjures up an idea of beauty and
light, and listeners may think the same of this Cabo Verdean artist’s music.
The 13 tracks on her first album, Laço umbilical, reveal
her extraordinary vocal technique, which “lies in her ability to explore the
deep register of Brazil’s great sambistas while adding a thrilling vibrato”,
according to one critic.
Born in 1986 on São Nicolau, one of the Barlavento islands lying to the north of the Cabo Verdean archipelago, Lucibela grew up in São Vincente
(known for the Port of Mindelo and for being the birthplace of icon Cesaria
Evora). Her music correspondingly reveals various influences.
Lucibela says she has always loved bossa-nova, and this is
clear from the album, but she grew up listening as well to Brazilian pop, rock and
jazz - music she performed herself as a teenager in her first group, when she
had to earn a living following her mother's death.
Her audience in the hotels and bars in Mindelo wanted to hear more
“customary” music, however, and she became versed in that too. Her label
Lusafrica, which produced Evora’s albums, says Lucibela learned the late
singer’s repertoire, which she performed alongside her own.
Although she now lives in Portugal, Laço umbilical is meant
to be the cord that links her to Cabo Verde. She sings about issues such as relationships, what it means to be a woman from the islands, and how if feels to be living far away.
From the traditional and upbeat “Chica di Nha Maninha” to the slow, poignant title track, the rich and diverse rhythms of her homeland are there in all the songs, but Lucibela still manages to forge her own sound. Recommended.
From the traditional and upbeat “Chica di Nha Maninha” to the slow, poignant title track, the rich and diverse rhythms of her homeland are there in all the songs, but Lucibela still manages to forge her own sound. Recommended.
