Saudade

When you think that you already know everything that has been done in Cape Verdean music during the last 5 decades, it is hard to discover something that will surprise you. Trust us. We have found that something.

Saudade is the first and only release from Marcos, an unheard gem from Cape Verde that was sitting in one of Lisbon's warehouses at São Bento for us to discover. Unheard until now, we have been searching for the past 4 years about this record and the existence of other copies.

Recorded during the 80s, the record is estimated to have been self-released in 1984. This constitutes another episode in the motion that started in the late 70s, where musicians from Cape Verde would visit Lisbon and acquire studio package deals to record a full album. We need to put a strong emphasis on the world 'deal' here because that's really what it was: a pure transactional operation.

Bands would come and pay for a bundle of studio time, including a fee to rent the 2" studio tapes, mixing and mastering, photography services if needed, reproduction of the final work, and sometimes a room for the whole band to sleep on. But if you were just a singer-songwriter travelling alone, that wouldn't be a problem since the studios included sessions bands that could help you play your compositions, or even help you create and write them. At the end of the deal, your vinyl copies would arrive from the factory, the band would continue the trip, normally up north to Rotterdam or Paris, and the analogue tapes would be erased to restart the process for someone else.

This endeavour was recorded in Portugal in Musicorde in Campo de Ourique. Today an upscale area of the city, but back then one of the main neighbourhoods where the Cape Verdean diaspora settled after the 50s and 60s emigration high - responses to Portugal's increasing need for cheap construction labour and to the crisis in the Sahel region. The other musicians in the record were part of studio's rooster, including the notorious Paulino Vieira, which participated in more than 50% of the Cape Verdean records of the time in Lisbon, along with the well-known Chibanga on drums, Kikas and Casimiro both on guitar and organ, and the strange and unknown character by the name of Live on bass guitar.

Probably one of the most obscure and undiscovered gems coming from the West Africa region. The 6 tracks recorded on this LP are genuine treasures of Funaná, with no synthesizers, just keyboards, guitars, drums, bass, and the warm voice of Marcos that doesn't stray far from giving us glimpses of Morna and Coladera. Finally, a detail needs to be made to Ncata Bebe, since this track brings a groovy feel that is not common to Funaná: a drum that is heavy on the foot with a highly present snare, a piano that sways like its in New Orleans, and a melodic voice that reminds us of some smooth and sadder songs from Zamrock.

Until date, only a handful number of copies are known to exist, with two of them belonging to us. First time ever reissue available at Comets Coming!

All product images shown are for illustration purposes only. The actual product may vary due to the condition of the current copy in stock.