Episode Three: Calu di Guida, Konpozitor Kriativu
In this zoom interview, Ruby and Candida speak with talented composer and musician Calu di Guida, who hails from São Domingus in Santiago. We chat about the spiritual dimensions of batuku; how compositions can speak to ecological realities; and the energy, or “velocity,” built within the tereru circle as batuku is performed. Diversions include the parallels between batuku culture bearers and griots, new compositional collaborations between all of us, and what a zoom call has in common with building a cooking fire (pédra-fogon).
Episode Three Transcription Download
EPISODE RESOURCES
Though Calu indicated in the episode that you can learn the most about him by word of mouth, you can also check out his compositions in the following places:
Terreru group: https://terreru.wordpress.com/
Gutty Duarte, “Amor Incondicional” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2yV7o5Trxk
Vargas Monteiro, “Consedju” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX0a9iau9aM&list=PLXc66K_BFT5puVJ_sTGnveOGFZaARz76w&index=5
Other References:
Codé di Dona, “Nha Rufan Barela” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TErO_rOrnII
Ano Nobo, “Lena” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K0JqAsbWew
Zé Galvão - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhlCGpAt8bA
Nha Nacia Gomi, “Nha Rama” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_01UNJ3jqc
Nho Ntoni Denti D’Oru, “Tchani Pamodi?” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdpbIZP8NbI
Nha Balila, “Têm Valor” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rLs_CRZlw
Rosa Mestre, Solera D’Nha Vida - https://open.spotify.com/album/7pI2DpI27izgc3baptJfYV?si=N10Syv_NQPGdymEKjkGG_A
Candida Rose, “Afro Blue” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUs9ILyj3NI
Tareza Fernandes, queen of batuku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCP8wO1Lj5A
Norberto Tavares, “Mundo sta di Bonita”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4NexQVMFg
Romeu di Lurdis, “Txitxaru Fresku” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7-RI0gWZc8
Sources Cited:
Braz Dias, Juliana. 2014. “Live Music in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Cape Verde.” In People, Money and Power in the Economic Crisis: Perspectives from the Global South. 130-149. Edited by Keith Hart and John Sharp. New York: Berghahn Books. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brown/detail.action?docID=1644376.
Cidra, Rui. 2018. “Cabral, Popular Music and the Debate on Cape Verdean Creoleness.” Postcolonial Studies 21: 4 (December): 433–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2018.1542575.
Hurley-Glowa, Susan. 2021. Songs for Cabo Verde: Norberto Tavares’s Musical Visions for a New Republic. Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1q16rgh.1.
And Journey of a Badiu, documentary film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aCsAmpehCA
Ouattara, Issiaka. 2018. “The Griots of West Africa: Oral Tradition and Ancestral Knowledge.” In Constructing the Pluriverse: the Geopolitics of Knowledge. 151-165. Edited by Bernd Reiter. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478002017-008.
Find Candida Rose:
https://www.candidarose.net/
Facebook: Golden Rose Music and Candida Rose
Instagram: @goldenrosemusic
Theme Music: “Kabu Verdi, Un Dia,” published by CaboAmericana publishing; lyrics are by Candida Rose, and music is by David Ndiaye. Find it on Apple music, Spotify, or Amazon.
Music in this Episode:
“Tchuba,” performed by vocalist Rosa Mestre. Composed by Carlos “Calu di Guida” Moreno. Kalu Monteiro on drums, Kim Alves on guitar, Djim Job on bass and percussion, and Ana Paula Songs & MariJo Monteiro on background vocals. Song for the album Solera D’Nha Vida, recorded at Ot’era recording studio. Produced by Djim Job for Music of Job and Djon Ramos for Orkka International. P&C 2018 Orkka International & Music of Job. Find it on Apple music, Spotify, or Amazon.
“Afro Blue,” originally composed by Mongo Santamaría and Oscar Brown, Jr., performed by vocalist Candida Rose, with Javon Jackson on saxophone, Santi Debriano on upright bass, Claudio Ramos on keyboard, and Kalu Monteiro on percussion and background vocals. Co-production by Notera Productions and Candida Rose for Golden Rose Music. On the 2006 album Kabu’Merikana: the Sum of Me, published by CaboAmericana Publishing.
CACD Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/UC4CACD/
and Website: https://cacd.nationbuilder.com/
Orkka International:
Website: https://www.orkkainternational.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066673986226