Philippe Monteiro

Philippe Monteiro is one of the major singer/songwriters of the new generation of musicians from the Cape Verde diaspora, among other musicians such as Grace Evora, Gil Semedo, or Beto Dias. Philippe was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal from capeverdian parents. He lives in Dakar and owns a recording studio ("Ozone Studios") where all his albums are recorded and mixed by himself ("Method Mix"). While he's a talented keyboard player trained in the US, it is Philippe's suave vocal tone that has proven extremely popular among young adults all over French and Portuguese-speaking Africa, as well as the African diaspora in Europe and North-Eastern USA. Philippe's songs are written in Capeverdian creole, although some of his later hits have also been written in other languages such as Portuguese or Wolof. Love is by far the most important of his lyrical themes, and the musical genre he plays is appropriately named "Cabo Love". Cabo Love is a variation of Zouk, a slow dance from the caribbean also known in other parts of the world as "Kizomba". Cabo Love is peculiar in that it is danced on a step called the "Pasada", which is based on a syncopated time signature of 3/4, while the music itself is always written on a 4/4 beat. The resulting effect is thrilling to those dancers who have mastered it. Pasada, like many innovative dance steps, originates from Angola. Philippe Monteiro's style is richly written around Rn'B bass lines and groovy drum patterns. His use of vintage synthesizer sounds is also characteristic of the genre. Philippe also writes other styles of capeverdian music, such as "Funana", which is a very fast dance akin to the Merengue. Another popular dance with Philippe is "Batuca", a mid-tempo dactylic rhythm like the "gig", which he has managed to cleverly blend with traditional senegalese drumming. Philippe Monteiro's music can also be heard in Brasil and Cuba, where Capeverdian and Angolan students have brought his albums. Philippe has released many albums under his own name, all of which have enjoyed major sales figures in his specialized market. Philippe has also composed and produced many of the most popular Cabo Love songs and albums for other singers such as Paulinha, Gama, To Semedo, Yvon Paris, Princesse Lover, Djudja, Grace Evora, etc... Philippe can be reached via email at ozonephilip@gmail.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.