Singles announce albums. In choosing them, in that blend of an offering that pleases the followers and a message meant to convey what the record brings, everything is carefully prepared.
Within the universe of singles, one has just been released by the singer and composer Adé Costa. After 10 years of a professional career in music, Adé puts out the single and video for “Kundun Kundun,” the first from the artist’s third solo album, which sets the tone for the 7 November show in Praia.
He joins the composer Princezito, who writes it in partnership with Adé. They give us a track in which the #Batuku, the #Finason and the musical world Adé has offered us from the start all come to the fore. Kaku Alves’s strings enrich the piece.
In this track the musician embraces the sounds of Santiago and forges partnerships of excellence that help make the track “a journey,” as the composer from the island of #Maio confesses. From this island he brings the pronunciation of the local kriolu variant. Here a small distinction shows itself, subtly, in a batuku that makes us smile. I confess I enjoy the singing in the Maio accent. It seems to round off the end of the word, and musically it sounds good. Add to that the accordion line, by now a habitual presence serving as a kind of guide in Adé’s work, and it is a track to let ourselves be carried by.
Costa also has a habit of seeking out partnerships, which to me sounds like sharing: one of music’s greatest banners, one that not everyone reaches. I recall what was for me one of the most compelling tracks in our music in recent years: “Fazê Gat” (watch the video here), with the lovely voice of Jenifer Solidade, in a simple video that carries us off to a Maio of fishermen. Original, well arranged, with a concept, it was music that I might venture to ask whether radio explored enough.
In the musician, I like the curiosity that merges with an interesting sense of professionalism, one that often flows into a musically accomplished product. He is a musician to follow.
On social media, Adé says he is “entering a new phase in his career”: “A new phase. The same passion as always.” May it be so, because we need novelty, innovation, evolution and visions that make the sounds and rhythms of our islands into wind, and that leave the result “kundun kundun,” within us.