Performance - 4 July 2015
Neuza was born in 1985 in Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde on the island of Santiago. Her mother, who was born in the island of Fogo, had moved in Praia in the 1980s in search of a better life. There she would sing in the city’s bars in exchange for food, tobacco and drink, while Neuza would stay at home in their humble stone house under the care of her older sisters. Neuza was only 6 when the excess of tobacco took her mother away forever. The little girl went to live with her godmother in Fogo. From her mom, Neuza kept the sound of the melodies she had always heard her singing.
She soon learnt the traditional songs from the Island of the Volcano from the passengers singing to avoid being too bored or sick during that dangerous crossing. But she was reluctant to embrace a musical career ; it recalled too many bad memories. On the contrary, when she became a mother herself, Neuza chose an ordinary life with a normal job. But destiny was stronger than her will. She was working in a restaurant when she was 24 and due to her fun and happy personality, she often sang while setting the room before service. Her co-workers were stunned by the clarity of the young woman’s voice and encouraged her to take the microphone and give it a try in front of an audience. Hesitant at first, Neuza finally jumped in and soon gained more and more fans among the restaurant’s customers. One day a friend, brought Jose Da Silva to listen to the young lady in a bar. The singer’s high pitched voice and her repertoire made of traditions from Fogo hardly ever recorded on disc decided the producer to offer to record for the Harmonia label.
To be released in Cape Verde at the beginning of summer 2013, “Flor di Bila” unveils the secrets of Fogo Island rythms. Neuza let us hear the curcutiçan, a traditional lyrical battle between female and male voices using irony and provocation, the women taking on the men’s virility.
Neuza, vocals
Alban Chapelle, saxophon
Vaiss, guitar
Zé Antonio, cavaquinho, guitar
Kalou, keyboard
Renato, bass
Abel David, drums
