Tonight: Lura Unearths an African Musical Heritage in Cape Verde.
A rich West African ambience will set the scene tonight as Lura, the Cape Verde-based singer, performs at Flamingo Cantina in a rare US appearance. Born in 1975, the year of Cape Verde's independence from the militant European colonial rule that stifled public musical expression, Lura's distinctive pop stylings unify the West African influences of the percussive funana beat and the sexual-charged energies of batuque.
The origins of her musical career can be linked to her 1992 appearance with African zouk musician, Juka. Zouk emerged in the early 1980's, as various African musical aesthetics converged with those of a European origin: the merging of the balakadri with French pop, for example, or the combination of the "gwo ka" and other indigenous African styles with American jazz.
These stylistic underpinnings are all brilliantly realized in Lura's recent release on the Rock Paper Scissors label, Di Korpu Ku Alma. The recording provides further evidence of the uniqueness of her approach, one that deviates from the European pop of fellow Cape Verdean, Cesaria Evora. While "barefoot diva" Evora adopts the coladera and morna approaches, which ring of a certain exotic twist on European and Brazilian pop sounds, Lura belongs to the generation of young musicians rediscovering the African musical traditions and stylistic regionalism of the Cape Verde islands. Does it not bring extra fire to the furnace that Lura possesses a gorgeous stage presence, a sense of glamour, and elegance not often seen in modern pop?
Decide for yourself, tonight.
Lura
Tuesday, February 7th
Flamingo Cantina
8:30 doors / 9:30 performance
$10
