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Carmen Souza was born in Lisbon within a Christian family of Cape Verdeans. Very early she experienced the “Sodade” feeling of missing someone with the long absence of her father due to his work at sea. She grew up in a mixed language environment of Creole, the Cape Verde dialect her parents spoke at home, and Portuguese, always surrounded by the Cape Verdean way of life.
Theo Pascal, her producer and mentor and one of the best bass players in Portugal, discovered her talent and introduced Carmen to Jazz and other contemporary sounds that markedly influenced her musical development.
Carmen Souza has been touring extensively around the World since 2005 and played festivals like The North Sea Jazz Festival, Leverkusener Jazztage, San Francisco Jazz Festival and many others. Her first concerts in Cape Verde received great reviews from press and audience and all recognized her special and unique place in the Cape Verdean music culture. In 2013 Carmen Souza won the title of Best female singer and Best Morna with the album Kachupada at the Cape Verdean 'Grammys'- Cabo Verde Music Awards 2013.
Undoubtedly, she is a true world music force and one of Europe's most in-demand jazz singers, as someone said: "Carmen Souza does not have to decide whether her music is Jazz or 'World Music'. Her style is just as unique as convincing and her Cape Verdean roots as evident as her desire to create a new language under the label of 'World Jazz'.
Carmen Souza sings in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality, and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch. Her music has a deceptive simplicity, a rare clarity, derived from a unique mix of influences from her Cape Verdean background to jazz and modern soul creating this beautifully vibrant, largely acoustic, accessible hybrid.
Interconnectedness is the name of Carmen Souza's 10th album and is about humanity and the way we are all Interconnected.
"This music is a result of everything that has happened to me in the past 4 years and the world in the past 2 years. The experience of loss has changed my perspective of life and consequently it changed me and my music. The pandemic challenged and questioned values, morals, humanity, and everything is still so uncertain and vulnerable, this music exposes exactly that vulnerability. As composers me and Theo went through major reflection as artists and there was a greater amount of experimentation in the production. The longing for stages and tours made us reminisce on the many performances around the world and bring this joyful element to the album." Interconnectedness was recorded and produced by Carmen Souza and Theo Pascal between Lisbon and London with different formations, morphing into another chapter of this duo musical partnership.
As with every album that we have made throughout all these years, the music always evolves to other perspectives and meanings as it is performed in the many stages of the world, so I look forward to seeing what this music has in store and to accompanying its evolution.