Today we continue with the Luso-African theme with a guest post by Benn loxo listener, Ian:

“Joao and Ramiro Mendes, otherwise known as the Mendes Brothers, are probably the most influential artists in the Lusophone African world–despite their lack of name recognition. In 1978 the brothers immigrated from Fogo, Cape Verde to Brocton, Massachusetts, the epicenter of the Cape Verdean diaspora in the US. Shortly afterwards, they formed a band to play traditional Cape Verdean and Angolan styles like coladera, tabanka and semba. During the ’80s, the Mendes Brothers band built a following in the local Cape Verdean community.

In 1991 the brothers started their own label, MB Records, to produce and distribute their own and other Cape Verdean artists’ music. Brother Ramiro enrolled in the prestigious Berklee College of Music to study film scoring and commercial production, graduating in 1993. While Ramiro was still in school, the brothers produced an award-winning song for Saozinho. This lead to production work for big-name Luso-African stars, including Waldemar Bastos and Cesaria Evora. (In fact, Ramiro Mendes penned “Angola,” which became one of Evora’s biggest hits and her signature tune.)

Musically, the Mendes Brothers are interesting in that they have acted both as standard-bearers and pioneers. Their earlier albums are mostly straightforward CV pop; they share the slick production values common to most popular African music of the ’80s and ’90s but use distinctly Cape Verdean and Angolan rhythms. Along with their production work, their early albums are credited with popularizing these previously under-represented sounds on dancefloors both in Africa and around the world.

More recently, the brothers’ style has broadened to incorporate some of the feel of hip hop and R&B. Their latest record, “Cabo Verde/Kabu Verdi,” from which the songs below are taken, eschews the synthesizers and drum machines of much Afropop for the more subdued, naturalistic production characteristic of acts like india.irie or Les Nubiennes.

Given the sound of “Cabo Verde,” it’s not surprising to learn that Ramiro, based in Los Angeles and working under the moniker “Dr. Ra,” now produces hip hop, reggaeton and R&B tracks for a variety of new artists. One of them, an American-born Cape Verdean rapper/crooner named Anthony “TC” Cruz, is trying to popularize something he calls “three-step,” which, he claims, “brings hip hop back to the motherland” by fusing it with the 3/4 feel of Cape Verdean bandera.”

Thanks a lot, Ian. Great music. You can grab your own copy over at Calabash.

Mendes Brothers – Cabo Verde / Kabu Verdi
Mendes Brothers – Angolamania
Mendes Brothers – Madjon Di Djarfogu