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Tcheka
Nu Monda
(Four Quarters)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2007, Volume 14, #7
Written by Douglas Heselgrave
Ask any but the most ardent world beat fans about music from Cape Verde, and
most of them likely will draw a blank. Those who can mention a performer
invariably will evoke the name of Cesaria Evora, the barefoot matriarch and
originator of Morna — a kind of soulful, Afro-Fado music. Because Evora has
been in poor health in recent years — and consequently has cut back on her
touring schedule — there has been a resurgence of young female singers from Cape
Verde, all of whom are attempting to make a name for themselves on the world
stage. The most notable of these is a stunning vocalist named Lura whose most
recent album Di Korpa Ku Alma was a revelation to many critics. Despite
the acclaim that Lura and other female artists from the former Portugese colony
have received, they have made little effect outside of the fringes of music’s
mainstream. Tcheka, a young man from Santiago, Cape Verde who wrote two of the
songs on Lura’s In Love, hopes not only to change this but also to prove
with the release of his excellent, first effort Nu Monda that women’s
voices are not the only ones emanating from the Cape Verde-ian islands that are
worth hearing.
Cape Verde, named after Cape Vert in nearby Senegal, is a collection of 10
islands situated midway between Portugal, Brazil, and Angola. Santiago is
considered to be the most African of these islands, and it reflects a culture
that is neither European nor African but rather is influenced by both. While
most of the artists from Cape Verde traditionally have approximated the musical
styles of their colonial rulers by incorporating Portugese Fado and Brazilian
modinha into their compositions, Tcheka’s primary influences are much more
ancient, residing closer to his African roots. Tcheka’s rhythms and melodies are
inspired by batuque, a traditional style of song that typically is performed by
women after they return home from working in the fields. Originally, it was
developed as a way of getting around the ban on drums that was imposed by the
Church and the Portuguese colonial authorities. The women made piles of
loincloths into percussive instruments by rolling them up and holding them
between their legs. Batuque is still popular in Santiago today, but the
musicians now use plastic bags that have been tacked and folded in ways that
replicate the unusual rhythmic sounds that initially had been made by striking
folded cloth.
A professional musician since boyhood, Tcheka heard these rhythms and began
to experiment with transposing the batuque style for guitar. The results as
evidenced on Nu Monda are compelling, and they invite the listener into a
world that is quite unlike anything else being recorded and performed today.
Music can be interesting culturally and still not be any fun to hear, but
Tcheka’s work is not of the sort that has been made for academics,
ethno-musicologists, or anyone else who is drawn to it solely as a cultural or
anthropological expression of a post-colonial culture. Nu Monda is fun,
uplifting, and engaging, and it never sounds for a moment like a recording that
ought to be housed in the Library of Congress or a museum.
The shocking diversity of musical forms that have flourished in their places
of origin — existing under the radar of popular culture and outside of the gaze
of most world music fans, only to come to light in recent years — is the most
exciting area of exploration that currently is available. In today’s
environment, there is no other genre of music that is doing more for the
creative health of the industry than these recordings by young musicians who are
composing new music based upon traditional styles from Third-World cultures. The
phenomenal success of the Buena Vista Social Club some years back surely has
encouraged record labels to search for artists who are playing
contemporary-sounding, traditional music — specifically those who are creating
songs in an Afro-Latin style.
One doesn’t need to have a background in world music in order to enjoy Nu
Monda, nor is it necessary to be familiar with batuque in its original form
to enjoy the songs Tcheka sings and plays. Primarily driven by his voice and a
subtle yet powerful acoustic guitar accompaniment, the music is challenging,
complex, and original, and it should appeal to a wide range of music fans.
Lovers of African highlife will appreciate the simple yet intricate percussion
that lays the foundation for Tcheka’s dancing guitar lines and amazing vocal
inflections. Followers of Fado music will hear some of the longing and yearning
in Tcheka’s voice as he unearths and elevates the sort of forgotten and
unarticulated sorrow that has come to characterize the genre.
It can be difficult, at times, to describe how music sounds, and one always
resorts to comparing it with something that is more familiar. For example, there
are moments in Tcheka’s guitar playing that suggest the influence of Gilberto
Gil, but although the men share certain melodic sensibilities, there also is a
rhythmic intensity that is reminiscent of John McLaughlin’s Shakti.
Sometimes musical phrases and ideas fly thick and fast; at other times, a single
note lingers and insinuates itself deep into the listener’s consciousness.
Singing in Portugese and Creole, Tcheka’s voice is alternately muscular and
ethereal. Similarly, Cuban influences can be heard in his vocal style, ones
that, perhaps, trace back to the African Griot tradition that recently has been
reflected in the work of the great contemporary Malian singers Salif Keita and
the late Ali Farka Toure. The vocal harmonies throughout Nu Monda also
are stunningly beautiful. They evoke associations with artists as diverse as
David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash (at their most assured) and the I
Threes, Bob Marley’s longtime backing accompanists (at their warmest and
richest). While his music is nothing like Marley’s, Tcheka shares the same sense
of charisma and ebullience that the young Jamaican exuded before he took the
world by storm.
In the end, none of these comparisons are accurate or satisfying, nor do they
do justice to explaining Tcheka’s work. Like the best world music, Nu Monda
sounds ancient and traditional at one moment, and it feels contemporary and
futuristic the next. Nevertheless, this is still a vague description. The fact
is that, in real terms, there is no evidence in his music of any influence from
anywhere in the English-speaking world. Consequently, critical analysis is set
adrift, instigating a search for familiar touchstones. There is no rock
influence; there are no traces of soul, nor hip-hop, nor reggae — all common
comparisons employed by musicologists to provide context to different forms of
black music. Tcheka has his own unique set of influences, all of which are
difficult to pinpoint. None of this detracts from Nu Monda’s charm. Its
contents effortlessly percolate, dance, and groove in the orbit that plays among
the various styles of Latin and West African music. It requires no passport for
entry into its seductive realm.
Nu Monda is a real treat, and Tcheka is an exciting new performer, one
who is overflowing with talent and musical ideas. He is quite unlike any other
artist who is recording in the world today. He deserves to be a star, and if
there is any justice left in the world, he’ll surely become one. 
Nu Monda is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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