Lisbon has become one of the great European centers for African music, as those who once lived in the Portuguese African colonies migrated to the city to look for work, bringing their music with them. Lura was born in the Portuguese capital in the mid-70s, soon after her parents had moved there from the Cape Verde islands, off the West African coast, and has emerged as the glamorous new young champion of Cape Verdian music. The islands are best known for their one international superstar, that great veteran Cesaria Evora, whose tuneful, gently thoughtful approach Lura’s best songs evoke.

She’s also developed a cool, easygoing style of her own, mixing both African-influenced dances songs, such as Batuku, as well as European balladry and pop, as in her treatment of To Martins, one of the islands’ many songs about emigration. Check Lura out of Womad later this month.