M'Bem di Fora - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Fans of Cesaria Evora have been kept in short commons for some years by a relative dearth of new material and emerging talent. But Lura, who was born in Portugal of Cape Verdean parents, is clearly a contender for latter's throne. The beautiful young singer describes herself as a country girl and as such, is more interested in rural styles like the funana, bataku and the European, colonial-based mazurka than in the more urban morna, a barroom blues associated with the elder diva. Her songs, many of them self-composed, deal with small-town realities like a mother's advice to her son in hard times, an unplanned pregnancy, uninhibited holiday celebrations and other tales that might well be discussed on a neighbor's door-step. This is not to say that she is a narrow-minded provincial or hide-bound traditionalist; her arrangements are paragons of acoustic elegance, owing as much to R&B, Argentinean tango, post-Tropicalia Brazilian pop and French chanson as hometown firesides. Her voice, a clear mezzo-soprano-to-alto, ranges from girlish to smoky but as her material tends toward upbeat rhythms, it is her sun-drenched, precisely calibrated melodic sense and crackerjack phrasing that anchors each tune. The title track, a frenetic hip-swinger sung as a duet with Zeco di Nha Reinalda, could make a stone dance. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Intoxicating rhythms and piercing melodies from Cape Verde. April 8, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Once a backing singer and dancer for Cesaria Evora, she established her reputation by breaking away from Evora's sad and soulful morna style and mixing in cool, thoughtful ballads.
She also has an impressive line in raunchy dancing, with such upbeat African-influenced rhythms as funana and batuque.
This album shows off her cool, clear vocals on a series of songs that are all very pleasant and easygoing.
Lura brings a street-wise, urban sensuality infused with the passionate root of mother Africa to her music.
Key to understanding her appeal is to see her onstage, where her warm, communicative manner, hip-swivelling dances and mellow voice make for a winning combination.
Perhaps most crucially, as part of a new wave of younger performers currently emerging from Cape Verde and its diaspora cultures in the US and Europe, Lura brings a fresh outsider perspective to the traditional music of her ancestral isles.

4 out of 5 stars

4 stars because I am sure Lura/Toy Vieira will be even better next time July 2, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I really believe this record is an extraordinary achievement in Cape verdean music. If Lura's first major label international release, "With heart and soul", reflected her roots in the new Batuku style under the influence of the now legendary Orlando Pantera (she covered 4 Pantera songs on that record), here she spreads her wings further, in true Krioulu style, assimilating what she finds best in a broad variety of styles, both indigenous to the islands and from abroad. The result is spectacular, and much broader and deeper than her previous work. Her voice is getting much better with age (for an interesting view of how her voice has improved over the years, check out her vocals on Bonga's record, Mulemba Xangola). And as Lura is surrounding herself with a very talented and diverse set of musicians whose work on this record is very good. Most notably, Lura's keyboardist, Toy Vieira, really comes into his own as a songwriter on this record. He clearly has a great talent for songwriting and the Toy Vieira/Lura collaboration promises to be a very fruitful one. This record establishes Lura as the most interesting and innovative artist recording in Krioulu today. I look forward to giving 5 stars to her next release because it will undoubtedly be even better.

5 out of 5 stars

Embodies a pure love of country life, despite its hardships. April 14, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Portuguese singer Lura presents M'bem Di Fora ("I Come From The Country"), her second North American music CD album, which draws heavily upon her love of her countryside home, and the unique musical traditions of the Cape Verde islands. Cape Verde is a semi-arid island string of ten islands hundreds of miles from mainland Africa; each island has its own distinct rhythms, and all of them formed inspiration for Lura's lively music anthology. From the hope of people waiting for rain to return, to the ambience of midsummer celebration, to the song about a daughter who fell in love with a poor islander rather than fulfill her mother's dream of marrying a rich foreigner, the songs of M'bem Di Fora embodies a pure love of country life, despite its hardships.

4 out of 5 stars

Another artistic album May 15, 2007
I was lucky enough to see Lura live here in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago and became an instant fan.

This album was well worth the wait and I'm happy to see that she's getting support from her record company.

5 out of 5 stars

Este cd e maravilhoso! July 22, 2007
O quarto, o sonido e perfeito, as cancoes sao muito lindas mesmo, Ela descobriu a muito tempo as suas origem, ou seja as sua raizes, eu gosto muito deste cd mas acho que di korpu... e um bocadinho melhor, mas acqui pode ouvir cancoes maravilhosas mesmo!

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