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 practically freezing outdoors. 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 shortly warmed us up… and bought us shifting.
Draped in a putting lime-green satin gown, 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 heart beat, whereas she sings of her journey leaving her hometown of Santiago — it is the most important island of Cabo Verde, positioned off the coast of West Africa. Transitioning into “Mudjei,” an ode to womanhood, she makes a declarative assertion: “This tune talks about girls, one of the vital stunning creatures God created,” earlier than inviting the viewers right into a vigorous call-and-response, instructing them the phrase “lady” in Cape Verdean Creole.
The band follows with “Dipalbesa,” a rousing ballad that captures the second of dropping your self in a relationship. Then, the unmistakable sound of the accordion cues “Funana,” a tribute to the normal music and dance type of Cabo Verde, its infectious rhythm sweeping by means of 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 appeal are positive to maintain you coming again. Via her music, she carries the guts of Cabo Verde to the world, bridging cultures with each word.
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/Sequence 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
- Govt Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Sequence Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
