Roy Tabwa

Born in Angola and raised primarily in Portugal, Roy immigrated to the United States at age 15. He graduated high school and then worked towards an Associate’s Degree. Eventually, he would practice guitar eight hours a day, while listening to many of CapeVerde’s traditional artists like Bana, Luis Morais, and Bau. “In 1999, I went to Brazil and I bought some records and I got inspired by Brazilian music,’’ he said.“When I got back I found some books by Joao Gilberto and Is studied the chord progressions. I found some websites that had all the Brazilian tunes. I started studying music theory learning the chords and had to play them backwards because I am left-handed.’’To get to the point of proficiency, Roy said he began attending “OpenMic”opportunities around Boston several nights a week around 2005 and continued for nearly a decade. He said those sessions helped him conquer performance anxiety and gave him confidence and polish. During this time, word began filtering through local circles of a musician with an eclectic sound who cultivated his style from varied sources.That ultimately led him to noted producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kim Alves, whose remarkable touch has graced the projects of dozens of artists from around the world. Alves agreed to produce the record, shape the compositions and singularly lay down all musical tracks. Music school that taught him theory made the difference for Roy, enabling him to place the sounds he heard to proper musical structure. Then he never looked back.

“Once I started going to school I saw that composition was so easy and it was just right there in front of you,’’he said.“I know what’s going on right now and I got a little bit of theory and I could figure it out. If I get stuck I go back to the theory. I used the tools and I learned. All of this ultimately led Roy to the doorstep of Rhode Island-based Kim Alves, a Cape Verdean music legend, multi-instrumentalist, top engineer and in-demand producer, who helped launch the careers of countrymen, and musicians across the world. Upon hearing Roy’s inherent talents, Kim quickly agreed to produce his ambitious debut album, “The Tabwa People.” Released in 2020, with the help of ORKKA International may seem like the culmination of a journey, but given all that Roy Tabwa has picked up along the way, it’s only the beginning. In fact, he’s already in the process of developing material for a second release. The journey continues — and we can all enjoy the ride.

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