Lucibela is a smile; a fresh breeze ruffling the bougainvillea blooms and wave tops. The young Cabo-Verdean was born in 1986 on São Nicolau, one of the Barlavento islands – the ‘windward’ isles to the north of the Sahel archipelago. Now she has made her first album, Laço umbilical, the cord that links the singer to her land. Over its thirteen tracks, Lucibela-the-voice-of-gold explores the issues involved: being a woman and a Cabo-Verdean, living far away and loving with sensuality and grace. The secret of Lucibela’s extraordinary vocal technique lies in her ability to explore the deep register of Brazil’s great sambistas while adding a thrilling vibrato.