Third Siren Corner: The Charm

The "Canto Terceiro da Sereia, o Encanto" is part of a musical trilogy inspired by "Kianda", a mythological figure of the fishermen of the Island of Luanda.

This musical-literary is set against the backdrop of the memories of a crew member on ships of the old merchant navy and his brother, a steam engine driver on the old Amboim railway line. The reason for the reunion, after a forced separation, was due to the fact that the coffee produced in the interior of the province of South Kwanza was, in the 50's, transported by Gabela / Port Amboim corridor, to, after stored in large warehouses on the coast, be exported to the world in cargo ships docked offshore, for lack of a harbor.

TECH FILE

Ciclo da terra

Voices - Toty Sa'Med, Gari Sinedima and Jay Lourenzo 

Drums - Helio Cruz 

Programmed drum s - DH

Percussion - Yasmane Santos

Fretless bass - Mayo Bass Guitars

, 12 string guitar and acoustic guitar - Toty Sa'Med 

Keyboards, Vocoder Moog Bass - Nino Jazz 

Trumpet, Flughelhorns Violin and Brass Arrangements - Christian Martinez 

Flute and Tenor Sax - Thierry Farrugia 

Tuba - Didier Havet

Harp - Obile Abrell

Violin - Lysiane Métry

Fire Cycle

Voices - Selda, Katiliana and Nayela Simões

Arrangements, Bass, Acoustic and Guitars - Munir Hossn

Drums - Tuur Moens 

Clarinet and Alto Sax - Ricardo Toscano 

Ciclo da Água

Introductory Voice - Sandra Cordeiro

Voices - Emanuel Mendes, Bruno Neto, Gomes Domingos, Ndaka Yo Wiñi 

Percussion - Yasmane Santos 

Electric and Fretless Bass - Mayo Bass

12 strings Guitar, Acoustic GuitarCavaquinho - Toty Sa'Med 

Accordion - João Frade 

Violin - Lysiane Métry

Violin Arrangements - Christian Martinez 

Air Cycle

Vocals - Filipe Mukenga and Anabela Aya 

Drums - Tuur Moens 

Electric Bass, Synth Bass, Guitars and Guitar - Toty Sa'Med 

Keyboards, Melodica and Vocoder - Nino Jazz 

Trumpet, Flugelhorns and Brass Arran gements - Christian Martinez

Executive Production, Conception, Lyrics, Texts and instrumental part in "Ciclo da Água" - Filipe Zau

Music - Filipe Mukenga Music

Production and Arrangements - Nino Jazz

Sound Technicians - Waldemar Vilela (capturing and editing) and Rui Guerreiro (mixing and mastering)

Cover Illustration - Arlette Marques

Design - Ricardo Rodrigues

Recorded, between 2014 and 2019, in studios in Luanda, Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Faro and Los Angeles.

CICLO DA TERRA

(O REENCONTRO)

After years of separation justified by the need to work for survival, the revisiting of the time when the brothers Augusto and Francisco, sons of a traditional Cabinda authority, spent a happy childhood and adolescence together, took place, in Porto Amboim, in a humble house located in Morro do Canivete. Augusto was a railway conductor and Francisco was a crew member on ships of the Portuguese merchant navy. Near the beach, bags of roasted coffee for export were stored, arriving from the interior in wagons hitched to a steam engine called Benguela-a-Velha. Anchored offshore, in the large bay of Porto Amboim, the holds of the freighters waited for the bags of coffee, which, for lack of a dock, would arrive from the boats, which made the connection between land and sea. 

(Augusto)

In a village in Cabinda

I was born in Mandarin

I take the steam engine

To the village of Porto Amboim

Its name is Benguela-a-Velha

And I take the coffee from Gabela

To the old village Kissonde

Ex-Feitoria de Benguela

I tried life in Luanda

I tried life in Malange

I arrived in Porto Amboim 

Only I took care of myself

Chiloango was far away

Only Keve was close by

I work as a machinist 

With a sure course in life

(REFRISON)

In the hills a lot of chicken

And also a lot of goats

From the bush comes game meat

Of wild boar, deer or pakassa

Seafood comes from the sea 

Good fish and also salt

Many people work 

Many people live badly

(FRANK)

I was born in Mandarin

On the edge of a mafuma

Son of Tiaba da Costa 

From the Treaty of Chinfuma

From a village in Cabinda

I went to Luanda and Malange

With permission to embark

I entered the hard life of the sea

On board I am a sailor

The cabin is my residence

The sea is my companion

It gave me resistance to the body I made facultyme the body resistance

I went to college everyday

I went from Lisbon to Bombay

We stopped at a bay 

Called Porto Amboim

(REFRESH)

In the hills a lot of chicken

And also a lot of goat

From the bush comes game meat

Of wild boar, deer or pakassa

Seafood comes from the sea 

Good fish and also salt

A lot of people working 

A lot of people living badly

(AUGUSTO)

I hope one day to get to the station

And have news of my brother

Because destiny said yes 

I am on my way to Porto Amboim

(AUGUSTO)

I want to see maiaka at the table 

I want to see tchikuanga at the table 

I want to see gingibre and cola 

And music in grafonola

Call people from my homeland

To sit at the table with us

You have already arrived in Porto Amboim 

My brother after me

I want a jinguinga on the table 

And a broth of dried fish

I want palheto wine on the table

From Mr. Barreto's shop 

I want washed and combed

To see children and grandchildren at the table

He has already arrived in Porto Amboim

My brother after me my brother is following me

He is mooring offshore

But the boat will pick him up

Today we will speak Ibinda

Our Cabinda language

(FRANCISCO)

It was written in the stars

That if I looked for you so much

You would be right by the sea

In a village vila ou cidade 

Que te abraço de verdade

It was written in the stars

That we would meet 

To talk again

About the clear and hidden things 

That make up our lives

It was written in the stars

That on our different routes

We would have victories and defeats

Wherever the ship would dock 

Or the train would stop

It was written in the stars 

That the right or wrong path 

Is one's own marked destiny

Once owners of land and ivory 

Today living a bad life

I want to meet the sister-in-law

I want to hug the nephews and nieces

From the ship I brought cookies

And sweets for the children

(AUGUSTO)

I fell in love with Domingas 

Mother of my first children 

With her I made Isabel

Chico, ana and Edith

Another younger daughter

With her mother then died

There was a lightning from the sky

And everything at home soon burnt down

I liked a lady

Who lived in Gabela

And it was in a escapade

That with her I made Elisa

Later in Porto Amboim

I saw Maria da Cruz

With her I dated yes 

But she died giving birth

Your sister-in-law is Tina

And the naughty boy

Naughty and possessive

He is my youngest Ivo 

(FRANCISCO)

I peeped through the ship's porthole

I immediately imagined the good signs

What will the women be like here

The land in sight and the quay there

There is beer all over the bar and lots of wine

Whisky, cognac and good champagne

Instead of getting lost here all alone

May there be someone to accompany me

When I'm on the high seas

I'm a day-to-day slave

When I come ashore

I own a lot of Mary

Every expense is very close 

In the cabaret dance music and whores

I call one of them to me 

For my foot

And in one night we are happy

(A Sailor)

A more insistent look

A happier smile

From the middle of the bar

Near her I'll come

A subject without a subject

A wanting to approach 

An invitation to dance

With her I'll stay

My head spins

We spin

A glass of ice and whisky

It goes doping my mind

If the confusion is great

The greater my loneliness

Without art or magic

I sleep in an empty bed

CYCLE OF FIRE

(AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE)

The steam engine that will cross the hills between Porto Amboim and Gabela departs from the station station station. On the wooden pier, women bid farewell to the crew members who will continue their journey with the ship's holds laden with sacks of coffee. At the time of departure, the whistles blown by the train and the ship anchored offshore are anguished, as if it were a last meeting. The glowing coal shifts the Benguela-a-Velha on land, while the ingredients of the "fire soup" are cooked in the ship's engine room as it prepares to head out to sea. The women's cries are no longer stuck in their throats and are confused with the whistles of departure. 

(the whore)

I'll be at the quay waiting for you

When you arrive from your trip

I'll let out my smile

When I look at your image

For you I'll cook

I'll caress your back 

And in the evening I'lli will offer you 

The kitutes you like the best 

When I am in bed 

And you come to me

I want to smell your perfume

That jasmine smell of yours

(the consort)

I am your wife

And the man of the house

I am your companion

For life

I work at home 

And sometimes out 

Your salary is little

And you spend like crazy

I am your wife

I know you well And I accompany you to your home you well

And I follow you from a distance

Your comings and goings

I am the mother of your son

Of others I am a stepmother

Of what you do on the outside

I keep quiet when it is enough

I am desire inside

A boiling kettle

I live the cycle of fire

At every sunset

I am a jealous woman

And I tie you to my knot

I am your wife 

And I belong to only one man

(THE Lover) 

I am with you in a colored friendship

Or if you want, in an unassuming relationship

There are those who say I'm an unhappy

That I resemble a harlot

I'm with you in a secret way

one midnight or mid-afternoon

I know that you arrive late

Back to your shelter

But your best ruse

Is to go out with a friend

Some people say that I am unhappy

That I resemble a harlot

In the mouth of these people I represent a danger

But my greatest sin

Is to like being with you

Until always my love

WATER CYCLE

(Of the sea and the kianda)

Don't talk to me about myths and realities when, in the middle of the open sea, the water cycle causes the ocean waves to beat mercilessly against the ship's hull. Whether she exists or not, what is certain is that I see her among the waves of the sea, without the certainty of being half fish and half woman. Under the moonlight, there is indeed a part woman, with long hair covering her breasts. From the smell of the sea air and sensual singing there is, however, only one certainty: the charm of Kianda comes from Luanda. 

(1st sea)

In the sea is my life

My life is in the sea

In the sea is my life

Which is more suffered than lived

In the sea is my life

My life is in the sea

Of the sea I have no fear

Of this I make no secret

From the immense sea comes my salary

And I earn less than proletarian

I am only afraid of Kianda

And of the calemas in Luanda

But if one day the mermaid calls me

If she wants to take me to the depths

I leave my melancholy to my family

I leave my joy to the cabarets 

My life is at sea

My life is at sea

My life is at sea

Sorry, i'm leaving now

My life is at sea

My life is at sea

I'm not afraid of the sea

I treat it like a toy

My salary comes from the immense sea

And I earn less than a proletarian

The only thing I'm afraid of is unemployment

That one, yes, it takes my mind off things

But if one day the siren calls me

If she wants to take me to the depths

I leave my melancholy to my family

I leave my joy to the cabarets 

My life is at sea

My life is at sea

(2nd Seafarer)

I have sailed many miles

In large sea and river ports

In the face of fear I only took courage

On coasting ships de cabotagem

Suporto muito o calor e frios

Onde navegam os grandes navios

Suporto muitas ondas infernais

Filhas twins dos tempais 

Há o desafio que vem da própria morte

E uma presença grande da Kianda

Há um jogo de azarar or sorte

Em águas longe de Luanda

(3º Marítimo)

Não estou nobre nem burguês

Mas também não sou gentio 

More than once

I have beaten the ship

Whoever wants to bother me

Whether on land or at sea

Will see that I am not small 

Will taste my poison

Son of a traditional chief 

Servant on a colonial ship

Worn out in winds and tides

King of the finest cabarets

I have already received a lot of tickets

To disembark soon 

I go to the captaincy

I have to present myself

When I run out of high seas

I own Cais Sodré 

I own Bairro Alto

I am night in the cabaret

Son of a traditional chief 

Servant on a colonial ship

Hardened in winds and tides

King of the finest cabarets

(4th Maritime)

I climbed the ship's bridge

Quis, at night to look at the moon 

And the twinkling brightness of the stars

Challenging the pitch black shade

That dominates the vastness of the sky 

I pray to God who is in heaven

I pray to Kianda who is in the sea 

There is no quay or islet nearby 

How much I long to moor

I climbed the ship's bridge

I wanted to look the immensity of the sea

There was salt and colossal waves 

Made of unnatural winds

All to torment us 

I pray to God who is in heaven

I pray to Kianda who is in the sea 

There is no quay or islet nearby 

How long I wish I could dock

AIR CYCLE

(RECORDING TIME)

The wind brings to the scenery of our memory the best and worst memories that the air cycle can blur. Only the great passions resist the erosion of time, which leaves in our body the inevitable rust of age, in the fruitful and libidinous action of the cycle of the earth.

(MAN)

Now it's time 

To put an end to this story

You come looking for me soon after

You want to go away

Any whim that is

Has its time to end

Otherwise, how am I going to fall in love

Oh, creature

In me there's a great desire to have you

Yes, there is! 

We'll see what happens afterwards

You must tell me what you're up to

If it's just for fun 

Then leave me alone

Friendship, you must know, does not give way to seduction

At my age one doesn't play with passion

When we dance, your slender body is glued to me

And if you're going to run away, don't ever dance with me like that 

I have a great desire to have you

Yes, I do! 

We'll see later what's going to happen

You must tell me what you're up to

If it's to entertain you 

Then leave me alone

It's time for you to say, what you want

Creature

The world is a planet full of women

You bet

Now it's time 

To put an end to this story

You come looking for me soon after

You want to leave

(WOMAN)

It's Friday moonlight by the sea

Black dress on black honey-coloured skin

Nostalgia and lots of magic 

By the water's edge

There's a woman who was left alone

She lost her beauty, drowned -she drowned in sadness

She threw everything at the ambition card

She entered into illusion 

That wealth is more than everything

And that love with content is nothing

The low tide came

Loneliness also came

And lost the sense 

Of passion 

(MAN)

A lilac covered the evening 

In the sky there was a thick mantle of gas

Gravitating

Pregnant with dreams

Laughing and youthful

An aniseed sweetened the gall

Which fell mute 

In the drunkenness 

grey

Of my exempt life

Of being well with myself

Iris

It's a visible rainbowVisible rainbow

Through my honey cup

A great anguish lives with me

Marked by a great will

That sometimes

It is well faked

By the betrayals of my age

(MAN AND WOMAN)

Tender was the shy landing 

Of your gaze 

Which for an instant 

Crossed mine

Tender was as before

The soft squeeze 

Of our embrace

For another reunion

But more than the honey

Of your gaze

Was, this time 

The soft caress of silk 

Of your beautiful hands

(MAN)

I looked at you in the deepest of your eyes woman

When you stared at my

I don't know if you ran away out of fear or shame

Everything happened in the end

I snuck into your well-guarded space 

I risked losing everything

I am a mere pawn in a chess game where you are the queen 

Only through passion will I win

My arms wrapped around your body

At the time we went dancing

Softly I came to your face

In the time we found each other

Your perfume intoxicates me 

Only by bad luck does it not go

A new saga was born

From a pleasure that does not leave me

We fled to a world that is only ours

No one else's

We wrapped ourselves in the same flame

We ended up sleeping in the same bed

Warmth that we have 

My arms wrapped around your body

When we went dancing

Softly I came to your face

When we found each other

Your perfume intoxicates me

It is only by bad luck that it does not go

Thus was born a new saga

Of a pleasure that does not leave me