Do the blues speak to you? Do hot Brazilian-style beats and funky African rhythms get your hips moving? If so, cast your ears across the ocean to Cape Verde, an island nation off the coast of Senegal. The Rhode Island-sized country was originally a Portuguese colony, a weigh-station for the transatlantic slave trade. In recent times, periodic droughts and an unstable economy have caused major emigration—more Cape Verdeans now live abroad than at home.

This separation from home and the difficulty of life on the islands are the foundation of the morna, the national song style. Mornas are sung in the native Creole and accompanied by string instruments. The melancholy sound is similar to the Portuguese fado and the Brazilian modinha, both of which are believed to have their roots in the African lundum. On the lighter side, there’s the coladeira, with its sensuous and danceable rhythms, and the African-influenced funana style, which is heavy on the accordion.

Cesaria Evora, known as the “Barefoot Diva,” is Cape Verde’s most famous musical export.  In 1988, at age 47, Evora recorded her first international hit, “Sodade,” in Paris. The song topped French music charts and launched her career as the “Queen of Mornas.”

You can shop her extensive discography on Amazon.com—if you’re not sure where to start, the site lets you download her songs as individual MP3s. To get a broader view of the Cape Verde musical scene, tune into the world music gurus at Putumayo and check out their “Cape Verde“collection, also available on Amazon.com.

And lastly, check out SodadeOnline.com, the website for Sodade Magazine, a quarterly publication devoted solely to Cape Verdean music. The site bills itself as the “preeminent online source [for] the latest and hottest feature articles, news, tributes, interviews, tour dates, music reviews, [and] videos.”