root salad f24 José Da Silva

From Cesaria Evora to the Atlantic Music Expo, José da Silva’s career impresses Bas Springer

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n response to the massive scale of Womex, recent years have seen the emergence of local world music mar- kets such as the Indian Ocean Music Market (IOMMA) on the island of La Réunion and the Atlantic Music Expo on Cabo Verde. The advantages of relatively small local markets are obvious: more time for one-to-one contacts and easy access to artists and managers. It’s also an instru- ment to promote tourism.

The Atlantic Music Expo (AME) has been held since 2013 in Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde. The driving force behind the AME is José da Silva, a Cape Verdean-born, Paris-based producer, businessman, talent scout, record shop owner and festival direc- tor. In Paris he founded Lusafrica, an inde- pendent record label in 1987 which launched Cesaria Evora’s international career. Thanks to da Silva, who was her manager and producer, Evora became a world music diva, who sold more than five million records.

With his label, da Silva also paved the way for other Cape Verdean artists such as Lura , Nancy Vieira and recently Elida Almei- da. The label also enlarged the scope of its activities with other African artists such as Bonga (Angola), Boubacar Traoré (Mali) and Sia Tolno (Guinea).

Da Silva is a man of many hats who combines his extremely good ears for talent with a shrewd sense of business. He loves to develop new ideas and is open for a lively conversation at any time of the day as he was in early April this year. The ever good- humoured da Silva quoted chapter and verse about the third edition of the AME.

“The AME is a new market for world music professionals from Cabo Verde, the rest of Africa and countries from all sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This platform was initi- ated by the Ministry of Culture and is pro- duced in partnership with Womex and my company Harmonia. Cabo Verde is the ideal location because it’s in the middle of three continents : Africa, Europe and America.”

“In the past Cabo Verde was a major market for the slave trade, now we want to promote our country as an intercontinental music market.”

Daytime at AME was restricted to world music professionals, including festival direc- tors, programmers, managers and media from more than 30 countries. Showcases could be attended in addition to confer- ences, network meetings, speed dates and workshops. The showcase highlight was that of veteran Cape Verdean accordeon player Bitori, champion of Cape Verde’s uplifting funaná dance music.

T

he night’s open-air showcases were free for everybody and attracted thousands and thou- sands of enthusiastic visitors,

mainly of Cape Verdean origin, who danced in the streets to the music of such local stars as John D Brava, Alberti- no Evora and Jenifer Solidade. The crowd’s favorite was Elinda Almeida, the new rising star of Cape Verdean music, who infuses local styles with R&B, soul and soukous.

Asked about the developments since the first edition, da Silva replies that “The interest is growing every year, not only nationally but also internationally. On Cabo Verde the AME is now on the national agen- da. More and more artists are coming to Cabo Verde, even if they are not selected for the showcases. Stabilisation has occurred at the international level. So I believe the AME has taken its place in the international music scene.”

“The good news is that the govern- ment of Cabo Verde recently decided to support the AME for the next ten years. For once the ruling party and the opposition agreed with each other and that’s very rare on Cabo Verde!”

The Cape Verdean Minister of Culture, Mário Lúcio Sousa, a former musician who released CDs on da Silva’s label, was one of the initiators of the AME. He also took the lead for the foundation of the African Music Forum, a platform for African music professionals. The minister’s term of office will end this year.

“Of course this is a loss for the cultural

life on Cabo Verde but I have the confi- dence that the next minister will continue his politics. Maybe he will change a few things but the essence of the market will not be changed.”

The seventh edition of the Kriol Jazz Festival followed immediately on the heels of the AME, yet another brainchild of José da Silva. Highlights of this festival dedicated to Creole music were the concerts of Cape Verdean singer Lura, Richard Bona and Esperalda Spalding.

“I founded a record label, just to pro- mote Cesaria Evora. And I opened a record shop in Cabo Verde because there were no shops which sold the records of my label. And then I started Kriol Jazz and later the AME because there were no festivals which promoted Cape Verdean music. So everything I started was because I felt there was a need for it”.

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Photo: Tiago Dias