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Mayra Andrade

From Cape Verde

Pretty persuasion from your new favourite songbird
Once in while, every good few years, a major new voice emerges from the Portuguese-speaking quarters of the planet. It might come from Brazil, it might come from the Cape Verde Islands (see here Cesaria Evora), it might be from Portugal itself (witness Mariza's striking arrival back towards the start of the millennium). The latest Lusaphone leading lady to invade our ears is another Cape Verdean - Mayra Andrade. Her gorgeous, slightly breathy voice boasts an undeniably timeless quality, making singing so immaculately sound as easy for her as breathing is for the rest of us mere mortals. "Singing has been with me since I was born," she announces. "It's sacred. It's like a family member you want to protect." Her voice adorns what she calls an "illegitimate" musical style, drawing as much from Brazil as from her home islands. "More than a singer from Cape Verde, I'm a singer. Period."
(Biography by Nige Tassell 2010)

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