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Touring March - April 2007

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Biography

In a world of instant celebrity stars are born overnight and often last little longer. So it comes as some surprise that Nancy Vieira leapt to prominence in Portugal as a winner of a TV talent contest in Portugal and then spent the next ten years quietly honing her craft. Nancy Vieira has integrated the sounds of her adopted home of Lisbon such as Jazz and Brasilian music to create a fresh accessible and exciting sound. She is proof that a voice alone is not enough to succeed; it takes energy, passion, confidence and stage craft. Fortunately Nacy Vieira has all these in abundance.

Nancy was born in 1975 in Guinea Bissau, the daughter of independence fighters who moved from their home on the island of Boa Vista to fight alongside Amilcar Cabral. Indeed her mother acted as Cabral’s secretary. Shortly before independence was formalised they moved to the Cape Verde Island of Santiago where Nancy spent most of her formative years. She recalls her father’s musical influence, playing the Mornas of their home island of Boa Vista. An accomplished musician he played violin, guitar and cavaquinho.

As a teenager she moved to Portugal to study leading to her working as a community worker in some of the toughest bairos in Lisbon, where immigrant communities faced the common problems of violence and crime.

But she never forgot her music and in 1995 friends encouraged her to enter a singing contest, which she won; the prize to record an album. ‘Nos Raca’ (my people / land) established her as a formidable new voice in the Portuguese speaking world. The last 18 months have been busy for Nancy, with acclaimed tours of Cape Verde, UK and USA, festival appearances such as Baia das Gatas in Mindelo and Sal as well as performing in Angola. 2006 got off to a great start with radio broadcasts on the British World Service reaching some 5 million people and BBC Radio 3 another 3 million in the UK.

Her UK shows will feature songs from her new album ‘Sagred’. Featuring nine new compositions and one folk song of unknown origin it explores many of the lesser-known roots of Cape Verde’s musical heritage. Like the track Sabura Sao Jon influenced by the music played in the little village of Ribeira de Juliao, which Nancy describes as a party place where this type of music forms part of the processions that regularly take place there. Or Saude a percussive work out with call and response vocals – “there’s improvisation by singers and it’s a lot of fun. The music is Coladeira (cooking pot) but with a different rhythm – you see Coladeira is all about feeling and melody not the beat”. This music although undoubtedly African is none the less European in influence particularly the French contra dance (or contra dansa as it is called). Indeed the melting pot of influences abound – from the Bossa nova of Ia Ile’ to the swing of the track ‘Brother’ (pronounced bradda) which reflects the British influence on the island of Sao Vincente where English items (like chwinga – chewing gum!), tea and cricket (!?) have woven their way into the language culture.

Nancy Vieira has put all the styles into the pot and produced a fresh accessible and exciting sound.

UK tour March April 2007

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