Cordas Do Sol - Lume D Lenha

The six-man band from Cape Verde's Santo Antão island was founded in 1994 and five years later brought out its first album "Linga d'Sentonton", to almost immediate critical praise. Their vocal, acoustic and percussion combination is inspired by the traditional Son Jon rhythms that come cascading down the island's spectacular mountain scenery and echo into its dense sugar cane fields. The group's follow-up record in 2002, "Marijoana" consolidated their reputation as one of Cape Verde's freshest bands, with its purity of sound, sensitive texts and humour. Having established themselves in the archipelago, they have been taken under the wing of France's LusAfrica label, which released a compilation of 14 songs that unites seven tunes from each of the band's two albums.