Singer, guitarist, composer, poet, writer, thinker, and former Minister of Culture, Mario Lucio is a true visionary, an expressive and gifted musician, and a fervent advocate of creolization. His work is a passionate tribute to the intercultural fusion that has shaped his country’s identity.
Fifty years after Cape Verde and the other former Portuguese colonies gained independence, Mario Lucio & The Pan African Band have released ‘Independance’, an album celebrating this momentous change in Portuguese-speaking Africa.
Mario Lucio witnessed firsthand the transformation of Cabo Verdean music after independence in 1975, when previously banned traditional dances like Batuko, Tabanka, and Funaná were revived, African influences took root, and electric instruments reshaped the nation’s sound.
Through this autobiographical lens, Mario Lucio released his seventh opus. ‘Independance’ includes “dance”, a play on words referring to the return of previously forbidden folk dances and the opening of the country to rhythms from Angola, Congo, Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. The album is resolutely festive, recalling a childhood era filled with joy and music.
Mario Lucio & The Pan African Band – four African nationalities united on stage – pay homage to the post-independence era while exploring afrobeats, soukous, and rumba, creating a sonic world that is both nostalgic and contemporary.
Echoing the vision of the 1966 World Festival of Black Arts, the ensemble celebrates African and diasporic cultures with rhythms from the continent and the islands, a clear and militant consciousness, and music that embodies power, unity, creativity, and pride.
PRESS
“While celebrating independence, and in a festive way, Mário Lúcio does not fail to have a lucid and uncompromising look at African independence processes in general.”
PUBLICO (PT)
“…a festive and danceable album which seduces immediately and totally.”
LE MONDE (FR)
“On July 5, 1975, Cape Verde became the second Portuguese colony in Africa to gain independence. Mario Lucio was 10 years old… So many festive memories can be heard in his seventh solo album, ‘Independance’.”
LE MONDE WEB (FR)
“Fifty years on, the elegant ambassador of Atlantic Creolité celebrates this festive era… lively dance music, a real breath of optimism in these grey times.”
TELERAMA (FR)
“A melodious, euphoric political ballad with the heady timbre of harmonies from the Portuguese-speaking archipelago.”
L’HUMANITE (FR)
“with the album ‘Independance’, Mario Lucio continues to preach for a gentle ‘Créolité’… with graceful musicality backed by lively rhythms.”
TELERAMA SORTIR (FR)
“Another great name in Cape Verdean music, Mario Lucio.”
FRANCE INTER (RADIO FRANCE)