Carmen Souza & Theo Pascal - Portinglês (2024) [Hi-Res]

Port’Inglês (English port) is a musical tale of Islands. The untold stories of the British presence in Cape Verde and the decolonisation struggle sang in the unique style of Carmen Souza. In this new music, Jazz speaks a language of freedom that is meaningful to all cultures and blends perfectly with traditional music and rhythms like Funana, Contradança, Morna or Mazurka—reflecting the multi-layered hybridity of Cape Verde itself. Port’Inglês is also released in a year Portugal is celebrating 50 years of the Carnation Revolution the military coup that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974. This movement paved the way for the end of Wars in the colonial A frica and open ed the door for their Independence from Portugal.

After residing in the UK for 16 years, Souza uses her music to delve into the unexpected connections between her motherland, Cape Verde, and the United Kingdom, a country that has nurtured her creativity. Inspired by her master’s thesis on the British presence in Cape Verde, Carmen Souza embarked on a deeply personal and musically enriching journey. Crafting a collection of original songs deeply rooted in the Islands’ spirit, she retells the stories of these two cultures’ encounters and their lasting impact on Cape Verde after centuries of English presence. This journey is a testament to her passion and dedication to her craft, inviting the audience to share in her musical exploration.

“I drew inspiration from the tales told in Cape Verde to create this musical suite. Through my research for my master’s thesis, I sought to embody this historical period through music. The album explores themes of cultural identity, resistance, colonialism and the ongoing struggle for decolonisation, highlighting the connection between Cape Verde and the UK. Inspiration came from popular tales, tales of the sea, and even Sea Shanties from British Folk Music.”

Like the people who inhabit the islands, Cape Verde’s music is of mixed cultural descent. Souza and Pascal have been taking risks with their signature sound for over two decades, using Jazz to create a new Creole musical language featuring their Lusophone/Cape Verde DNA. Their music has never seemed so in sync with the vibrant UK jazz scene, where Jazz is much closer to its multicultural audiences, open and welcoming to other influences.

In Port’Inglês, Jazz speaks a language of freedom that is meaningful to all cultures and blends perfectly with traditional music and rhythms like Funana, Contradança, Morna or Mazurka—reflecting the multi-layered hybridity of Cape Verde itself. Improvisation further blurs the boundaries between culturally specific kinds of music. Carmen Souza’s voice shows a variety of textured registers that explore the subtleties of her expressional range. The sound is direct and clear, giving each song a sense of “liveness.”

Souza’s long-time collaborator as bassist, creative producer, and composer, Theo Pascal, comments, “Our priority was to allow each instrument’s acoustic ‘colours’ to shine through organically, without requiring extensive digital processing or effects. The use of analogue and other digital recording techniques is a nod to the historical nature of the stories we tell here, adding a layer of authenticity to the album.”

A group of talented musicians of Lusophone and British origin contributed to this rich musical tapestry. On piano, Deschanel Gordon (UK), Diogo Santos (PT), João Oliveira (Angola). On drums, two Londoners, Elias Kacomanolis (Mozambique) and Zoe Pascal (UK, PT). On trumpet, Mark Kavuma (UK) and Gareth Lockrane on flute (UK). Carmen Souza also plays the piano and guitar.