One day it would be amazing to replicate the type of trip Griff and I are taking, in "real" life of course, and visit perhaps 30 countries in 120 days or so. We would use those 96 hours to see live music and talk to as many locals as possible about what makes the music of that country special and how it relates to their culture, history, etc. But doing this virtual traveling, delving into the depths of Spotify, does have its benefits and one of those is being able to wake up and find ourselves not in dusty Rajasthan but in the tiny Atlantic island nation of Cabo Verde.
Cabo Verde's history has been a story of transit, immigration, and emigration. Cabo Verde was used as a stopover from Europe to the "new world" and Africa and was populated by the Portuguese and the African slaves they brought with them. The tiny archipelago therefore shares links to both Portuguese and Brazilian musical cultures, while its proximity to West Africa gives it even more flavor. However, behind the veneer of beaches and sun lies decades of stagnant economic growth (until recently) and many Cabo Verdians left, looking for a better life away (there are currently more Cabo Verdians living away from the islands than on the islands themselves). Cabo Verdian music reflects both this joy and melancholiness, and its national genre Morna birthed an international superstar in Cesária Évora. For such a tiny nation, Cabo Verde bursts with music and we did our best to capture a small panorama below. Tell us what you think!
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