Luís Lima and Vaiss, Teofilo Chantre and, of course, Amélia Muge. In other words, themes that come from the deep tradition and memory made in Cape Verde, but which also come from the minds of people from other generations and countries and which are consolidated by a new generation that is already projecting the soul of these islands into the future.
The arrangements, full of subtleties, rich in swings and harmonies, reflect the visions of Jorge Cervantes, the Acácia Maior of Luís Firmino and Henrique Silva, fundamental names of the new generation from Cape Verde, the lisboetas Fogo Fogo who have raised the flag of the new funaná high or the experienced Mário Lúcio. And there are also other guests who reflect this multiplicity of experiences and intersections in Nancy’s life: António Zambujo who joins his voice to Nancy’s in the beautiful “Fado Criolo”, a song in which you can also hear the spoken cadence of Chullage and the acoustic guitar os Fred Martins, or Miroca Paris who paints “Dia Funçon” with percussions.
There are many people on this GENTE, an album that avoids the easy path of technological touches of “modernity” and prefers, in its apparent formal traditionalism, to promote the particular magic that only happens when people from different walks of life meet in the same space to share, play and sing their different stories.
There’s a lot of Cape Verde in this album, or Nancy wouldn’t have so often been referred to as the heir to Cesária Évora, one of her strongest muses. But on GENTE there is also that world that only exist in the street os Lisbon and where you can hear the nuances of Brazil, echoes of so many other Africas and many Europes and Americas. There’s morna and samba, fado and batuque, jazz-tinged sophistication and pop-minded adventure. There are people. There is life. This is an album made now with tomorrow in mind. Yesterday only matters because it’s what brought us all here. To this album and this music.
