Roy Tabwa

Roy Tabwa’s musical journey has had many of the same twists and multicultural influences as his early upbringing. Born in Angola, and raised in Portugal, it was natural that Roy gravitated to the music of Cape Verde, deeply rooted in and influenced by both those cultures. His parents, having hailed from that island country, helped foster in him a love for traditional Cape Verdean artists such Luis Morais . He also became captivated by the music of Fogo Island, which lies some 2,300 miles across the Atlantic form Portugal. As if covering all the points on a compass, these widespread influences became the bedrock of Roy’s musical foundation.

After emigrating to the United States at age 16, Roy continued to build on that base, first from his own sense of discovery (taking to world music, punk rock and artists as diverse as Lou Reed and The Cure) and later in the true academic sense. With his fluency in Portuguese, Roy credits a trip to Brazil in 1999 for opening his earsas to how all the diverse musical influences could combine for a cultural cachupa. Hearing the genius in João Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Djavan and other Brazilian artists, Roy bought books by João and began to study chord progressions. Having already dedicated eight hours a day to guitar since moving to America, he picked up on the stylings quickly although it was a bit of a challenge initially. He found charts for Brazilian music online, but almost literally had to stand on his head to learn it. “I had to play them backwards because I am left handed,” he said.

Read More. Media Kit