Carmen Souza combines English sea shanties with Cape Verdean rhythms

Souza imagines the spirit of her grandfather in the song. He used to play the fiddle – and was known as a great storyteller.

“I was told that if you had to walk with him for kilometres, you wouldn’t notice the distance because it would be one funny story after another.”

Souza is part of Cape Verde’s large diaspora. She was born in Portugal, and now lives in London. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are about 700,000 Cape Verdeans living abroad – twice as many as at home.

Historically, people were forced to move for work because of famine, drought, poverty and lack of opportunities.

This movement contributed to the islands’ deep, rich tradition of strongly distinctive music, including the melancholic morna made famous by singer Cesária Évora and declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco in 2019.

The composer behind many of the songs that made Évora a global star was Francisco Beleza – also known as B Léza. He revolutionised morna and was one of Cape Verde’s most influential writers, composers and morna singers.

According to Souza’s research, he also considered the British presence to be more beneficial than the Portuguese – at least to middle-class Cape Verdeans.

Souza’s track Amizadi, a mix of funaná and jazz, was inspired by B Léza’s admiration of the British. He composed a morna – Hitler ca ta ganha guerra, ni nada, meaning “Hitler will not win the war” to show solidarity with the British people during World War II – and even raised money for the British war effort.

Souza found that ports were “an important hub for musicians” who flocked there to learn the music – and instruments – of visiting foreign sailors.

They blended them with Cape Verdean rhythms to create new sounds. The mazurka – derived from a Polish musical form – and contradança from the British quadrille dance.

Early written records of Cape Verdean music are scarce – the Portuguese colonists did not document life and society on Cape Verde other than records of taxes and commodities.

They also banned the batuque – for being too noisy and too African – and funaná because its lyrics challenged social inequalities.