BITORI ft Chando Graciosa

(Cabo Verde)

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Cape Verdean funaná is a fast-paced, accordion-based style that evolved from the music of African slaves in rural communities. One of its greatest exponents is Victor Tavares, better known as Bitori. He got his first accordion in the early ‘50s, taught himself to play and eventually his raw passionate sound and gritty realist lyrics made him a key figure of funaná festivities. But he was 59 when he recorded for the first time in 1996. The instigator was the energetic young singer Chando Graciosa, who wanted to capture Bitori’s songs for a new generation. The resulting album, Bitori Nha Bibinha, became a Cape Verde classic but remained unknown elsewhere until its global rerelease by Analog Africa in 2016. To celebrate, Chando Graciosa assembled the album’s original top-class team to finally bring Bitori’s funaná to the world.

Bitori - accordion
Danilo Tavares - bass, backing vocals
Miroca Paris - percussion, backing vocals
Chando Graciosa - lead vocals, ferro
Toy Paris - drums, backing vocals