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At 21, she released her debut album Nha Vida (My Life) in 1996, followed by In Love in 2002, both a mix of RnB and zouk whose aim was to get young Lisbonites dancing. But there were tracks that stood out from the rest and audiences spotted the vocal talent of this young thing. One of these tracks was ‘Nha Vida (My Life)’ which was picked up and included on the album Red Hot + Lisbon, a compilation of Lusaphone music used in an AIDS campaign, which included songs by more established names from the Lusaphone world.

She was given the stamp of approval with a 2003 tour in Northern Europe with the famous Cape Verdean Cesaria Evora. This was followed in 2004 by the release of Di Korpu Ku Alma (Of Body and Soul), the album was a hit at home in Cape Verde as well as the diaspora and it seems Lura hasn’t looked back since.

2005 sees the re-issue of Di Korpu Ku Alma with some additional unreleased tracks and a DVD, all clothed in slick packaging, while Lura is currently on a solo tour in Europe — which has already included a stand-out performance at WOMAD before she returns for the London Jazz Festival - and the US.

This album shows Lura putting her feet firmly in Cape Verde: singing in Creole, with heavy influences from her compatriots and the country’s musical traditions. Many of the tracks declare themselves as Cape Verdean — using the old batuque beat, rapped out by the washerwomen of Santiago on bundles of cloth held in their laps, or through the subject matter — emigration, tradition, life on the islands.

But that’s not to say there isn’t a range here, from the fast-paced angry track ‘Vazulina’ that is pumped along by round, deep drumming and electric guitars overlaid by Lura’s strong vocals. ‘Vazulina’ talks of the lengths young Africans go to to follow the fashion for hair-straightening who use hot irons and petroleum jelly, losing themselves and their traditions. This and others on the album were written by Orlando Pantera a young Cape Verdean writer who encouraged new thinking towards his country, its Creole language and its traditions that has inspired young Cape Verdeans and musicians like Lura. Orlando Pantera died tragically young but his influence lives on in the Orlando Pantera Ganeration of which Lura counts herself.

Then switch to the lilting ‘Es Bida’ with only Lura’s vocals and an acoustic guitar to chart the hopelessness of life and the good old days. A real favourite is ‘Tó Martins’, an oldie from the Bulimundo group, that talks of exile and longing for home. Lura’s voice soars over soft percussion, electric guitar and saxophone that adds a folk-sy feel. A more Afro-Latin sound breaks through in Batuku with Lura doing vocal acrobatics in this dance number, plus old-school backing vocals and Afro-Latino rhythms and percussion.

Lura is one of very few women musicians that can be counted in the Cape Verde scene, re-vamping old hits and the sound and themes characteristic of the islands. It seems that Lura took slow steps into her heritage, learning Creole from her friends and then slow steps into her country’s musical heritage as a singer but it works. She makes Cape Verdean music and language sexy and contemporary and it goes down a treat.

Lura — Di Korpu Ku Alma is released by Escondida Music www.escondidamusic.com

Links:
Read our interview with Lura and see pictures of her perfomance at WOMAD