Travelling deserves a soundtrack - one that, as in the movies, tells a story and stays with you long after. Often the music we listen to on the road is not merely an accompaniment, but the reason for setting out in the first place.
In Mindelo, the second-largest city of the Cape Verdean islands, we had come to follow in Cesaria Evora's footsteps. Known for singing 'morna' in Cape Verdean creole, her voice speaks of suffering and the beauty found within it. Smoothed by generous amounts of grogue, the islands' unrefined sugarcane spirit, and weathered by endless cigarette smoke, its raspy huskiness seems made for lyrics dwelling on life's harder edges.
