The young Cape Verdean was born in 1986 in São Nicolau, one of the Barlavento islands, the “windward” islands in the north of the Sahelian archipelago. She released her first album, Laço umbilical, the primary link between the creature and its land.
Her new album AMDJER is a tribute to Cape Verdean women, but also to women in general. Here, the facts of everyday life are depicted, reflecting not only their sorrows, anxieties and challenges, but also their strength and determination to overcome, the joy of living and the theme of love, universal to all.
Drawn from tradition, composed by elders such as Manuel de Novas or by the next generation (Jorge Humberto, Betu…), Lucibela’s songs span the decades. Lucibela, like Elida Almeida who signs two tracks here, belongs to a new, uninhibited generation. These young women take up guitars, cavaquinho, saxophone, accordion, violin, the whole island hodgepodge and put it through the shaker of tablet and TV civilization. Lucibela exudes an intriguing intensity, straddling the line between pure sentiment, audacious playing and deliberate opposition. Laço Umbilical’s arrangements and musical direction were entrusted to Toy Vieira, Cesaria Evora’s partner in crime, who also worked with Lura.