by Olav Aalberg:
Argui
was Tcheka´s first
album on his own. A wonderful example of the talented young musicians searching
their own way while being inspired by the late Orlando Pantera, who went to the
batuku traditions of Santiago for inspiration.
Tcheka, or Manuel Lopes
Andrade, was born in 1973, in Ribeira Barca, Santa Catarina, on the island Santiago.
He is not a newcomer, but has participated on two CD´s before his own, namely
”Ayan”, and
”Cap Vers l´Enfant II”. In addition,
Lura, a Capeverdean artist living in Portugal, used two of his compositions
(“Tabanka Assigo” e “Ma’n Ba Des bes cumida dá”) on her albums: ”In Love” and
"Di korpu ku alma".
In addition to the traditional rythms like batuku and tabanka (thus, we hear the late ”neo-batukadero” Orlando Pantera, Tcheka also mentions artists like Richard Bona as sources of inspiration.
Tcheka: Argui! (Lusafrica 02313-2)
Nu monda (Harmonia mundi 2005: 023332)
Read about Tcheka (in Portuguese) on Portal
de Caboverde
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Interview (in Portuguese)