Unbreaking Tradition
Listening Post 387. Old fashioned… We all recognize it as a term that can go either way—tired and retrograde or classic and true. Lucibela means it in the positive sense and, with her third album, her tender and commanding voice in Cape Verdean Creole leaves no doubt. The artist (very much in the footsteps of Cesária Évora) is on a mission to preserve and generate renewed enthusiasm for the traditional music of her archipelago nation. On Moda Antiga the signature genres are in focus—brisk coladeira, pensive morna, funaná, baiao—and she sharpens the point of living tradition with five vintage songs and six new compositions that honor the old styles. There’s a tension in Lucibela’s chosen direction: In interviews she acknowledges an affinity for hip-hop, kizomba and pop that she shares with Cape Verde’s younger generation; at the same time, she questions whether the modern vibes are equal to the traditional sounds that are, lamentably, “more valued abroad than on our own soil.” Though she often performs abroad, her latest opus spins home grown stories of joy and sorrow, of strong women, of relationships solid and precarious, of nostalgia and intrigue, of hard work and lost jobs. Lembra Tempo (Remember the Times) is a tribute to all-night dances that were once markers of cultural cohesion but have largely faded from memory. Bruxa (Sorceress) shows a man rattled by his partner’s complaints; while Salabanku (Shock) portrays a young woman disappointed in her first love and fearful of trying again. Guest vocalists Fabio Ramos and Katia Semedo join Lucibela in a nod to Angolan semba with Mãe Gracinda (Mother Gracinda), about a welcoming matriarch. And Djentis Dasagua, (People of the Rainy Season) connects the dots between drought, emigration and a shortage of romantic opportunities. Every song on Moda Antiga is a thread in a timeless tapestry, and in Lucibela’s voice the good old days are upon us. (Lusafrica/Sony)

Lucibela: Moda Antiga / The Old-Fashioned Way
Lucibela [Lucibela Freitas Dos Santos]: Vocals
Toy Vieira: Producer, piano, guitars, cavaquinho
Bau [Rufino Almeida]: Guitar
Hernani Almedia: Guitars
Palinho: Guitar
Danilo Tavares: Bass
Jimmy: Bass
Totinho [Antonio Domingo Gomes Fernandes]: Saxophone
Nanuto: Saxophone
Ciro: Accordion
Marryl: Accordion
Udo: Percussion
Jair de Pina: Percussion
Djudjin: Drums, percussion
Edir Brito: Drums
Marlene: Backing vocals
Nana: Backing vocals

Related posts. Lucibela: Laço Umbilical, Listening Post 158. July 9, 2018. https://worldlisteningpost.com/2018/07/09/lucibela-laco-umbilical
Lucibela: Amdjer, Listening Post 365, January 19, 2023. https://worldlisteningpost.com/2023/01/19/lucibela-amdjer/

Lembra Tempo / Remembering the Old Days
Lucibela

(From the lyrics in Cape Verdean Creole)
Come dance our coladeira
Learn to dance it the old-fashioned way
Come on, let’s remember the days of old

Once upon a time there were balls
Everyone went to them
To clear their heads
To meet someone

Once upon a time there were balls
Everyone went to them
With peace of mind
We danced until dawn
With respect for all

Now that’s all in the past
But I’m nostalgic
Only traces remain
But I remember it
The old folks told me about it

Bruxa / Sorceress
Manuel de Novas

In the din of your confusion
There is not the slightest spark of reason
It echoes in my ears like a refrain
Like a dove’s cooing
Smoke dissipates in the darkness
In the tumult of a mystery
In the reheated and burnt intrigue
Disenchanted and desperate

Come very gently
Come repeat it in my ear
In a love song
Sorceress
Let me enjoy this pleasure
Don’t cast a spell on me
Let’s live far from all nightmares

Salabanku / Shock
Elida Almeida

They told me it was only the disappointment of first love
That tomorrow another love would come
But what if yesterday was just the beginning?

Why am I suffering more today?
After the experience
I wonder if I’m ready
To find another love

Another shock
I no longer have beginner’s luck
I took a beating on my first trip
I spent nights of anguish
Why am I struggling more today than yesterday?

Mãe Gracinda / Mother Gracinda
Lucibela, Fabio Ramos, Katia Semedo

We went to sing in Angola
Our sadness vanished
There we met a family and friendly atmosphere
Grandmother Gracinda, beloved mother, friendly mother
Opened her arms to us
Her bright eyes comforted us

I don’t want to leave here
But all good things must come to an end
And we will have to return
We found tenderness
Pure and unconditional love

In friendship and brotherhood
We had fun, we danced and tasted spicy dishes
You left us filled with nostalgia

In a home filled with love, Mother Gracinda raised you
Each one fighting willingly, for their livelihood
Furtado e Sardinha, longtime friends
We felt that love, we were with family

O, Angola… Ay, Luanda
We take away good memories
You will be forever in our hearts

Djentis Dasagua / People of the Rainy Season
Zezé Di Nha Reinalda

Oh yo, yo, yo
I used to go the Santa Catarina fair
Where I saw pretty girls
Weeding under a blazing sun
Surrounded by happy boys

But the years go by
I‘m still not able to catch one
It was the people who came in the rainy season
Who made it possible

So what happened?
What punishment
What plague of locusts has passed
That destroyed everything?

No smoke anywhere
To announce that the meal is being prepared
No more finding work on the roads
The men have gone abroad

Oh, oi, oi, oi
The women roll the mats
While the men work like animals
Tightening their belts

Today from the heights of Pico to Ribera Barca
It’s beautiful to see their houses
With their tiled roofs