Carmen Souza & Theo Pas'cal : Acoustic Set - 25th February

 

Carmen Souza grew up in Lisbon in a community of Cape Verdeans, listening to her sailor father play traditional Creole songs on his guitar. His lengthy periods at sea gave her a taste of sodade, the nostalgic feeling of missing someone dear; a characteristic of Cape Verdean and Portuguese music (for instance in fado).  Carmen Souza & Theo Pas'cal (acoustic set)

“Cape Verde was colonized by Portugal, but a lot of other European, Afr...ican, and Arabic influences came afterward. It’s a mestizo culture,” she says.

Carmen started singing professionally at 17 in a Lusophone Gospel Choir and she has always seen music as her spiritual calling. Leading Portuguese bass player Theo Pas'cal, who will be performing with her tonight, took her under his wing and became her producer and mentor.

“Sodade’ has a great history behind it - a man was abducted from Cape Verde, taken from his family to work in San Tome, in the fields. While he was on the ship, he wrote these words longing for Cape Verde and his loved ones. It’s a simple story, just a man suffering in this boat. But this song went all over the world.”

“Carmen Souza sings in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality, and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch. Her music has a deceptive simplicity, a rare clarity, derived from a unique mix of influences from her Cape Verdean background to jazz and modern soul, creating this beautifully vibrant, largely acoustic, accessible hybrid. World soul music for the 21st century.”— David Sylvian

http://www.myspace.com/carmensouza


Adm: £12
Door open: 6.45pm
Music: 7.30pm
St Ethelburga's Centre
78 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 4AG
Tel: 07776136609
Music: music@stethelburgas.org
www.stethelburgas.org

PLUS DELLA'S DELICIOUS FOOD. BAR AVAILABLE