Sara Tavares

Sara Tavares16歲時就贏得過葡萄牙最享有聲譽的電視音樂比賽的兩項獎項。做為一個非洲佛得角的第二代移民，她在兩種文化中成長。
她的音樂生涯最開始，是以演唱福音、靈魂樂和Funk樂和作曲為主。在創(chuàng)作的過程中，她逐漸融入了更多她的家鄉(xiāng)的非洲音樂在曲子中。1994年她錄制了她的第一張專輯：Sara Tavares & Shout，1996正式發(fā)行這張專輯，為了介紹這張專輯，她在葡萄牙、佛得角和法國巡回演出。2001年她的第二張專輯Mi Ma Bo，由來自剛果的著名歌手和音樂制作人Lokua Kanza 與Sara一起合作制作，在葡萄牙獲得了金唱片獎，這張專輯用葡萄牙、Criolo語和英語三種不同的語言來演唱，表現(xiàn)了音樂語言的多樣性，專輯混合了非洲的節(jié)拍和旋律美妙的流行歌曲。帶著非洲的色彩并帶給聽者觸及靈魂的感動。
從1998年末開始，Sara Tavares決定為她的這張專輯重新開始工作。為了達(dá)到這個目的，她停止了演出， 著手研究她自身真正的民族根源和對她的音樂創(chuàng)作有影響的東西，并從中對自己的音樂創(chuàng)作進(jìn)行自省。在這些深入的研究之后，誕生了Mi Ma Bo這張專輯，Mi Ma Bo來自Criolo語（佛得角語言），意思是我和你，這是一張有點私人性的專輯，在專輯里Sara的聲音所聯(lián)結(jié)的所有情感，都用著它特有的歌詞和悅耳的旋律來表達(dá)。通過這張專輯，Sara Tavares不僅表現(xiàn)出了她出色的音樂才華，也體現(xiàn)了她做為一個作曲家和制作人的才能。也向人們證明了她在音樂上的日臻成熟，她的才藝和她所擁有的更長的藝術(shù)之路。
by Evan C. Gutierrez
Afro-Portuguese songwriter Sara Tavares was born in 1978 and brought up in Lisbon. Second-generation Portuguese of Cape Verdean decent, Sara was brought up by an elderly matriarch in her community after her father left for the States in search of a better life, her mother having traveled south in pursuit of the same ends. Sara showed great musical promise from a young age, a potential that was cultivated and bore fruit while Tavares was still in her teens. Winning the Endemol song contest Chuva de Estrelas, followed by a victory at the Portuguese Television Song Contest in 1994, earned Tavares a slot on the Eurovision Song Contest, all at the age of 16. Her winning song, "Chamar a Musica," was featured on her debut single release, Sara Tavares & Shout (1996), where Tavares mixed gospel and funk with her native Portuguese influences. Performing and writing songs in a mix of Portuguese, Crioulo, and English, Tavares spoke to her own lost generation of Cape Verdeans and Afro-European immigrants who searched to define their unique culture. Her sophomore effort, Mi Ma Bo, released by RCA in 1999, marked a noticeable change in direction toward Afro-pop. The record went gold in Portugal, announcing Tavares' arrival as a national star. After a five-year wait, eager fans were treated to Tavares' third album, released independently in 2006. On Balancê, Tavares penned all of the repertoire and added percussion to her list of credits, in addition to guitar and voice. Full of messages of hope and self-worth, Tavares' Balancê established her as one of the diaspora's most distinct and influential artistic voices.