Tcheka - Dor de Mar
|
|
Tcheka - Dor de Mar
|
|
Tcheka Cape Verdean singer Tcheka's scowling face is only partly visible behind the accusing index finger he thrusts forth on the cover of his latest release, Dor de Mar. Open the CD cover, however, and there he is again, grinning and leaning back like he's about to deflect an oncoming blow in a pillow fight. Yes, the angry visage is just a goof, and anyone who knows anything about Cape Verdean music knows it doesn't cater to the pissed off. Tcheka (born Manuel Lopes Andrade) is part of his country's acoustic guitar-plucking male singer/songwriter contingent that also includes Boy Ge Mendes and Teofilo Chantre, and over the course of four albums he's captured that uniquely Cape Verdean sense of lilting melancholy that ties the island nation to its Portuguese colonial roots and, more subtly, the rhythms of the African mainland. Dor de Amor has a more sparse feel than predecessors Nu Monda (2005) and Longi (2007), giving the record a starkness in keeping with its translated title, "Sorrow of the Sea," and invoking the isolation of Cape Verde's location just shy of the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. But the music can be danceable and snappy as well, as when "Madalena" picks up a samba-like groove halfway through, when Tcheka gets scatty with some skittish percussion on "Forti Bu Dan Cu Stango" or when his raspy falsetto leads up to a burst of electrified Latin rhythm that caps "Moca De Classe." So you can lay back and let this disc soothe what pains you (always a good approach with Cape Verdean music), though you're likely to find some part of your body twitching rhythmically before it's over. To get some idea of what the songs are about, read the brief explanations in the liner notes: love, loss, beauty, injustice and the environment are among the subjects tackled. So the music is timely as well as pleasant, and the presence of such participants as nimble bassist Guy N'Sangue, accordion master Regis Gizavo and trumpeter Antoine Illouz adds elegance to Tcheka's visions. A fine addition to Tcheka's works and to the extensive array of Cape Verdean artists, men and women alike, who are bringing their music to the world. - Tom Orr
|
|
|
|
