In 2021, the Tiny Desk x globalFEST collection was created to advertise worldwide music discovery. For the fifth version, we current artists from Cabo Verde, France and Colombia.
Once we shot this live performance in early January, it was almost freezing exterior. However the second Elida Almeida stepped behind the Tiny Desk, her highly effective voice, the vivid tales from her native Cabo Verde, and the irresistible rhythms of her band rapidly warmed us up… and received us shifting.
Draped in a putting lime-green satin costume, Almeida opens the present with a two-song medley of “Djam Odja” and “Mudjei.” Keys take middle stage as drums and rhythm guitar drive the heartbeat, whereas she sings of her journey leaving her hometown of Santiago — it is the most important island of Cabo Verde, situated off the coast of West Africa. Transitioning into “Mudjei,” an ode to womanhood, she makes a declarative assertion: “This tune talks about ladies, one of the vital lovely creatures God created,” earlier than inviting the viewers right into a energetic call-and-response, instructing them the phrase “girl” in Cape Verdean Creole.
The band follows with “Dipalbesa,” a rousing ballad that captures the second of shedding your self in a relationship. Then, the unmistakable sound of the accordion cues “Funana,” a tribute to the standard music and dance model of Cabo Verde, its infectious rhythm sweeping by the room.
Almeida closes the set together with her greatest hit, “Bersu d’Oru,” an electrifying tune that had everybody on their ft. Whereas this can be your introduction to Elida Almeida, her soul-stirring storytelling and magnetic allure are certain to maintain you coming again. By her music, she carries the guts of Cabo Verde to the world, bridging cultures with each observe.
SET LIST
- “Djam Odja / Mudjei”
- “Dipalbesa”
- “Funana”
- “Bersu d’Oru”
MUSICIANS
- Elida Almeida: vocals
- Kalu Ferreira: piano
- Cau Paris: drums
- Jery Bidan: guitar
- Mayo: bass
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Ashley Pointer
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Collection Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Body, Maia Stern
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Photographer: Grace Raver
- Artistic Designer: Jackie Lay
- Tiny Desk Group: Lars Gotrich, Dora Levite
- globalFEST Group: Isabel Soffer, Invoice Bragin, Shanta Thake, Priscila Santana, Ian Thake
- Government Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Collection Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
