Following hot on the trail of the “barefoot diva” Cesaria Evora, and the alluring Lura comes the newest sensational Cape Verdean musical export: Tcheka! Tcheka is well-known in Praia (the Cape Verde capital) for his work in modernising "batuque", one of Santiago Island’s more popular beats, originally played by women. He also penned the opening and closing songs on Lura's debut album, and is making a welcome return to The Cedar after a warm and passionate show early last summer, and with his groundbreaking new album Lonji due out just before his Cedar show, on May 27. The new album was produced by Brazilian superstar Lenine, and features such unusual instruments as "hubcap" and "telephone book with brushes"!

Batuque, a beat specific to the island of Santiago in the Cape Verde archipelago, conveys the collective memory and identity of a people. Batuque was first played after work in the fields, traditionally by women. Sitting in a circle, they tapped on a "tchabeta", a bundle of cloth, normally made of piled loincloths that they rolled up and held between their legs. Depending on the thickness and compression of the fabric used, these cloth drums produced a variety of sounds. Batuque provided an accompaniment for "finaçon", a vocal style that the women improvised to suit their audience and the occasion. Following African tradition, the singers commented on village events, celebrated farming festivals, births and marriages, and commemorated deaths. Sometimes one of them would enter the "terrero" (the inside of the circle) and dance. Tcheka skilfully translates the sounds traditionally produced by the cloth drums to the guitar, accompanied with his beautifully mellifluous voice!

"Opening for Evora, the rapidly emerging Tcheka combined the expository batuku style with a captivating blend of Afro-Cape Verdean rhythms energized by a superb backup trio." -- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times, June 11 2007.

"Tcheka, although laid back in his own way, proved a livelier performer than the headliner [Cesaria Evora]. He grinned often and, when pleased, did a hip-swaying shuffle. His three-piece band - acoustic guitar, bass and drums - was a percolating marvel, bristling with hissing polyrhythms. Most notable was Tcheka's voice, often settling into a delicate falsetto that was sometimes ghostly, and elsewhere slightly reminiscent of Sting. His lead guitarist - a fleet-fingered fellow blessed with a relaxed fluidity - particularly impressed." (Adrian Chamberlain, Victoria Times Colonist, June 13, 2007)

"The Cape Verdean singer Tcheka (Manuel Lopez Andrade) opened for Évora, winning over the audience immediately with his signature take on batuque, a rhythmic style from his native Santiago Island. Tcheka and his band of guitars and percussion played a set of rhythmically compelling, gentle-spirited music. Tcheka's soft-edged, breathy voice and occasional vocal trills and effects, along with his charming onstage demeanor, were a winning combination." (Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 17, 2007)